


The Way Back

by serenecj



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:15:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 62,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26624269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenecj/pseuds/serenecj
Summary: A strange masked man seized Konoha, unleashing the Kyuubi of legend on its residents.  Namikaze Minato was only just able to retrieve the Kyuubi, sealing him inside of his son and, with the few that survived the devastating attack, fled Konoha.  They settled in a new, foreign land, hiding and shoring up their strength for the day when they are able to to return to the Land of Fire and take back their home from the villain that stole it from them.This is what happens after that.Someone here is really bad at summaries.  I'll let you guess who.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Itachi, Hyuuga Hinata/Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 20
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It occurred to me to write a prologue for this to explain some things, but when I started to do so, I hated every second of it. I prefer to let things like that be slowly revealed within the narrative of the story anyway, so in lieu of a prologue full of annoying exposition, I’ll just call your attention to the AU – Canon Divergence tag once more, and say this: I’ve changed some shit. If you find any enjoyment here at all, bear with me and keep reading. It’ll eventually come together. I think. 0.o 
> 
> Very briefly warning you that there have been some resurrections and some characters are so OOC that they may have been rendered unrecognizable. Because, really, Hinata was so awesome, with all these awesome things going for her and I never understood how she always seemed so helpless and…well, weak.
> 
> It also bears mentioning, that this is a bit over the top. Maybe more than a bit? *shrug* This is just me having some nerdy fun, playing with bad ass ninja and whatever feels pop up along the way. I hope you, too, can find a tiny bit of enjoyment in all of this ridiculousness. I'm having fun writing it.
> 
> UNBETAED. Even by me. I wanted to post it and share it but I have accepted by now that that would never happen if I read through. I decided to throw it up, lock myself into continuing, and see what happens. There are likely errors. Feel free to point out anything blatant or even the subtle. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. As is not so constructive criticism. Heh. Let’s chat, eh?
> 
> Standard disclaimer. Nothing original happening here. I own nothing.

Chapter 1

Naruto stood atop the North tower of the compound, reaching behind his neck to wipe at the sweat that dripped from his hair. He’d dispatched the guards in the tower with little effort, but it was such a hot night that the air seemed thicker and the humidity didn’t help one bit. 

He had very few memories of Konoha, of _home_ but he was certain it had never been so hot where he came from. Naruto longed for the cool of winter. 

It was, at least, slightly more bearable on top of the tower. Naruto wouldn’t be able to stay up there long, as his mission directive was to lay siege to the main compound but he leaned his head back, enjoying the summer night’s breeze as he waited for the signal from the rest of his team. 

_Heads up_ ,” he heard Shikamaru’s voice inside his head. Naruto flinched. He hated the mind transmission techniques, however useful they were for missions. _”Sixty seconds. Everyone should be in position.”_

Naruto rolled his eyes. The mission was child’s play. It was almost an insult to all of their abilities. It never ceased to baffle him how their clan leadership put so much into training them, into making them _hard_ and fierce in every way just to send them on missions against simple civilians that didn’t know their own chakra from their assholes. It didn’t matter how many of them there were, nor did it make much difference that they were all heavily armed. Naruto and his team could have taken the mission alone and come out completely unscathed, but Senju-sama had insisted on three full teams. It was ridiculous. 

Naruto sighed, stepping off of the tower as he directed some chakra to his feet to brace for impact with the ground.

“Hn, always showing off, Naruto,” his sensei grunted at him from where he stood leaning against the tower Naruto had just leapt from. “I thought we’d broken you of that habit.”

Naruto shrugged, grinning unrepentant. “Shikamaru said sixty seconds to position. Didn’t have time for the stairs.”

“Itachi-sensei,” Hinata greeted as she joined them, so silent in her approach Naruto had missed her coming. “Gaara-kun is in position.”

 _”Twenty seconds,”_ Shikamaru relayed to all of them. 

Itachi sensei pushed himself off the wall, eyes flaring red. He glanced at the two young shinobi, offering them a small grin. “Ready?”

Naruto snorted. “Come on,” he said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “This isn’t even going to be hard. We’ll be done in two minutes. Tops. I’ll bet you double training hours for the next week.”

Itachi raised an eyebrow, cocking his head in Naruto’s direction as he led the group forward to the sound of Shikamaru counting down from ten in all of their minds. “It’ll take no less than thirty three and a half minutes, Naruto. You need to pay more attention to mission briefs.”

“I thought that was your job?” Naruto shot back with genuine bemusement. 

Itachi sensei sighed, but was prevented responding when the entire compound lit up with flashing lights and the loud, harsh sound of an alarm pierced the silence of the night.

“I’m guessing that means go,” Naruto said, feeling his pulse pick up in excitement. An easy mission it may have been but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun. There was a commotion at the far end of the compound and Naruto was itching to jump into the fray. It was what he was good at, after all. He wasn’t afraid of their bullets. 

“If you take a single step, Naruto, I will put you in a genjutsu and leave you there for the next week,” Itachi sensei warned calmly, eyes not shifting from the apparently empty space in front of them. “Kakashi’s team has the South end. Our job is here. Focus.”

“On what,” Naruto all but whined. “There’s nothing happening here.”

“They’re coming,” Hinata informed him softly. “A few more seconds, Naruto-kun.”

Naruto grinned at her. “Yeah?” he asked, reassured by the sight of her Byakugan fully activated. If she said they’d be getting some action, he knew better than to doubt her. “Alright,” he said, pumping a fist into the air. “I’ll be damned if I let Sasuke have all the fun.” 

Itachi said nothing more, but Naruto noted the smirk the man was doing little to hide. 

Just as Hinata said, across the quad a large metal door opened and a group of two dozen armed men pour from it. Two more doors opened on either side of the first and Naruto felt a feral grin spread across his face. 

“Now?” he asked his sensei, bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

“Gaara first.”

On cue, the three of them watched as Gaara strolled out of a dark corridor on the other side of the field, hands in his pockets, and paying little mind to the armed men that surrounded him on all sides as soon as they saw him. There was shouting but Naruto was too far away to make out the words. He took a step forward but Itachi placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Hold,” he commanded.

“It’s not like it’d hurt anything to get a little closer,” Naruto grumbled. “I just want to know what’s going on.”

“They’re telling him to get on the ground,” Hinata said, ever the helpful teammate. “Gaara’s…not listening.”

Naruto chuckled. No, he wouldn’t be. 

“They’ve pulled their guns on him,” Hinata narrated watching with her Byakugan. “They’re…”

Naruto didn’t hear the rest of her words over the sound of gunfire, but guessed she was probably going to warn them it was coming. There were some screams of horror, likely in response to seeing Gaara’s sand come to life. The civilians in their new home always had reactions like that to seeing their techniques come to life. They always screamed in horror as if ninjutsu wasn’t one of the most natural things on the planet. Such a stark difference from what Naruto could remember of _home_.

Itachi lifted his hand from Naruto’s shoulder. “Now,” he murmured softly. Naruto never needed to be told twice.

His hands formed the seals with little thought. He could do this in his sleep at this point. “Hiraishin no jutsu,” he said, thrilled to use his father’s signature technique in an actual mission. He’d already set his seal all over this compound. The one just above the group accosting his fellow teammate would do to start. 

He landed on the ledge just above the door the second group of armed mercenaries had exited and he laughed out loud at the screams of terror that followed his arrival. There were more gunshots fired in his direction from some of the men that hadn’t bothered with Gaara. Naruto felt one graze his shoulder, but he flipped down to the ground and disappeared from their sight with another jump, right in the midst of the guns that had just been trained on him.

He gripped the barrel of the nearest gun and immediately rammed it into the face of the man that was carrying it. The man’s nose gushed blood and he released the weapon to bring both hands to his bleeding face. 

“I really hate these things,” Naruto calmly informed one of the fallen man’s comrades. He removed the clip and used the heavy weapon to drop another of his adversaries with a hit to the back of the head. He took advantage of the shock of the group, using nothing more than simple taijutsu, his priority to disarm and incapacitate. Naruto had never developed a taste for killing people. Especially people like these, so far from being able to match him, it was almost sad.

The men around him seemed hesitant to fire at Naruto in such close range, likely for fear of taking down one of their own, none of them able to get a clear shot as he shifted through the crowd of them, lashing out with wild kicks and punches, as he went. He made quick work of the men, dropping them one by one. Just having fun.

He was just about to descend on the last of the crowd with a well placed, overly showy kick when the man’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in pain before he was propelled forward by the force of Gaara’s sand striking his back. Naruto shifted his weight but still ended up dropping a kick on the man while he was down. He tried not to feel bad about it. From what he could remember of the mission brief, these weren’t exactly the greatest of people. Naruto still hated hurting anyone that couldn’t defend themselves.

“If you’re done playing,” Itachi said, his tone mostly bored as he stepped over fallen bodies to get to Naruto’s position. “We’re supposed to be moving inside of the compound, not frolicking in the front yard.”

“Who uses the word ‘frolicking’, Os-san,” Naruto teased, chuckling at his teacher as he rolled to his feet. Itachi was still only just twenty but he talked like he was from a different age sometimes.

A body whizzed by them, making fatal contact with the concrete wall of the compound before falling to the ground, and Naruto glanced in the direction it came from to see Hinata posed, palm forward, a pile of her own bodies at her feet. 

Naruto made eye contact with her and almost shivered. For someone so soft spoken and kind, she turned downright deadly in battle, no matter how simple the stakes. Hinata cocked her head at him, her serious, lethal expression not faltering as she joined the rest of her team. 

“You’re hurt, Naruto-kun,” she commented, eerie eyes on his shoulder, her voice soft and calm as ever. There was something unsettling about the way she moved in moments like these, with a slow, precise grace that didn’t seem human.

Naruto shrugged, glancing down at the wound. “It’s already healing,” he said easily. “Only fair to let them get one shot in.”

“I will never understand that logic,” Gaara commented, expressionless. Not for the first time, Naruto wondered how he ended up on a team made up of such terrifying, ruthless people. 

“We’re wasting time,” Itachi said, all business. He was the worst of the bunch, really. “We need to dispatch every warm body in this place and find what we came for. We’ll gather any survivors for Inoichi to handle.”

“I’ll take the lead,” Gaara said, moving toward one of the doors left open by the soldiers that now littered the ground around them. “Hinata?”

“Hai,” she said with a quick nod, joining him, her Byakugan still as sharp and lively as ever. And terrifying.

Naruto cleared his throat. “Only some of these guys are dead,” he said. “I’ll seal them and bring up the rear?” he suggested, looking to Itachi for approval.

Itachi nodded, turning to Gaara. “Go. Take Hinata. Naruto and I will take care of these and take the second door. We’ll seal off the third.” He moved toward the door in question to do just that, nodding at Naruto to get started on the men lying unconscious all around them. 

Gaara set off without another word or another glance back, Hinata keeping pace with him just at his right. 

Naruto let out a breath as he glanced at the bodies scattered around him, wishing he had a technique for gathering them all into one pile. It would make the tedious part of the job quicker. 

He decided it would be quicker to set three seals as the men were at least clustered into three groups for the most part. Itachi wasn’t as quick with fuinjutsu, Naruto’s Uzumaki blood making the job simpler for him so they’d likely finish at the same time with any luck. Naruto closed his eyes to focus and set to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“There are so many of them,” Sakura cried, jumping behind a stone pillar to get out of the way of bullets zinging by.

Sasuke grunted, grabbing her and pulling her more firmly behind the pillar just as a bullet almost hit her in the back of the head. “You should have stayed behind,” he said, dismissing her quickly. He elbowed Neji, nodding at the weapon that had put them on the defensive. “We need to take that thing out.”

“Agreed,” Neji said, staring at the automatic weapon through the stone pillar. “I can use my palm rotation to deflect the projectiles,” he started. “But we won’t be able to advance. Perhaps if I step out and draw their fire you can find an opening to break through.”

“There are too many of them,” Sakura protested, somewhat subdued. 

“We have to get by,” Sasuke insisted. “Nara said Itachi’s team has already made it inside. We don’t have anymore time to waste.”

“Well,” Kakashi said, joining them. “ _They_ have Gaara’s sand. Try not to let it get to you. This is only a minor delay. No need to be reckless so early in the game.”

Sasuke frowned. “What’s your plan?” he asked, curious because he knew Kakashi better than to think he didn’t have one. 

Kakashi grinned, mask shifting with it. “You’ll be pleased to know that _you_ are the plan.”

Sasuke smirked. He _was_ , in fact, pleased to know that. “What do you want me to do?”

“Neji will draw their fire, as he said. Just long enough for you to use genjutsu on the one manning that big gun. I’ll approach from the front with a clone to further draw their attention and sneak behind their line. I’ll give you the signal to approach when it’s time. Perhaps we can turn that weapon back on them.”

“You’ll kill some of them,” Sakura whispered horrified and sad, dropping her head. She was far too sensitive to be going on field missions in Sasuke’s opinion.

“We could let them kill us instead, if that’s your preference,” Sasuke deadpanned, shaking his head. Sakura was only a temporary presence, but she was more annoying than he could deal with. And she’d taken the place of _Lee_ so that was saying quite a bit. Sasuke never thought he’d see the day he missed his psychotically overzealous teammate, but at least Lee could handle their job. No one’s taijutsu was better and these bullets would have been no match for Lee’s speed. For all of his irritating optimism, Lee was an asset to any mission and they likely would have gotten through the door without having to take any lives if he’d been there. Sasuke wished he’d been recovered in time to join them.

Sakura had volunteered to accompany them, much to his and Neji’s disappointment. Having a medical nin along for the trip was only useful if any of them got hurt. Neither Neji nor Sasuke were in the habit of getting injured on simple missions. The way things were going, Sakura was the liability that might _cause_ that to happen. They’d be in the building already if they hadn’t had to slow down for her, constantly having to turn back to save her ass. Their opponents would never have had the chance to get that ridiculous weapon set up if it weren’t for the pink haired kunoichi. He and Neji would have been better off on their own. A quick glance at his teammate showed Neji didn’t disagree with the sentiment.

The bullets stopped for a moment and the man behind the big gun began shouting instructions at them as if they’d bother to listen at that point. Neji took the opportunity to step out.

“Hands in the air,” the leader apparent shouted. 

Neji snorted. “Okay,” he said simply, lifting his hands, but not over his head as they probably expected him to. 

“Is he…is he dancing?” Sasuke heard one of the men opposite them say in bafflement. He almost laughed and made a note to tease his friend for how ridiculous some of his techniques looked in the heat of battle. 

Neji spun into his Revolving Heaven technique and, as expected, every man watching panicked at the sight and the shots flew. 

So distracted were they by Neji’s tenketsu that Kakashi’s clone went completely unnoticed when he stepped into sight. Kakashi offered Sasuke a grin and a nod and Sasuke stepped into sight as well, Sharingan flaring to life.

“Stay here until we clear them, Sakura-chan,” he heard Kakashi telling the useless kunoichi. “It’ll all be fine. Trust me.”

A few of the men turned weapons on Sasuke as he got nearer but he was ready for them. He was almost as good as Itachi with genjutsu, even without the ability to use Kotoamatsukami as Itachi could. And he’d been practicing. He’d surpass his brother one day. He’d make sure of it.

One by one, each man that turned his gun upon Sasuke fell to power of his dojutsu. A single glance. Sasuke had it down to a single glance. A single second. Genius shinobi indeed. 

The genjutsu he was using required eye contact and the man behind the big gun was so preoccupied with Neji that Sasuke had been unable to meet his gaze, but Kakashi appeared behind enemy lines as planned using the body flicker technique, and Sasuke was almost distracted from his own task he was so amused by the way the man all but shit himself when Kakashi sauntered up and _tapped him on the shoulder_. 

“Want to see something really fun?” Kakashi inquired, lifting a hand without waiting for a response. “Chidori.” He used the lightning blade to slice through the massive weapon.

The man that had been firing it jumped back with a terrified shout. “What _are_ you people?!”

Kakashi chuckled. “Now, that’s just rude,” he scolded and with a blink he was directly in front of the man, bringing the hand not lit with lightning down on the side of his neck. The man dropped like a sack of potatoes, crumbled to the ground without another sound.

Sasuke couldn’t help but enjoy the scene, amused by his teacher in spite of himself. He had felt robbed when he’d first been assigned to Kakashi instead of his brother. He hadn’t spoken to Naruto for over a week when the blond had gotten the spot instead, only forgiving his friend when Naruto pointed out that he was just as pissed not to have been assigned to Kakashi as Sasuke was not to have earned a place with Itachi. 

But that was a long time ago. He hadn’t spoken to Naruto about anything unrelated to a mission in over three years. 

It had been just as long since Sasuke felt anything resembling disappointment at having Kakashi as his teacher. Even Itachi respected the man’s skill and all of the remaining members of his clan had deemed Kakashi worthy of the Sharingan he carried, even though he was an outsider.

Kakashi, the copy ninja. He could be a pervert and he never seemed to take anything seriously, but a bad teacher, he was not.

Sasuke shook off the thoughts returning to the matter at hand.

With the biggest obstacle taken care of, Neji came out of his palm rotation and made his approach. Any of the men before them that hadn’t been put under Sasuke’s genjutsu, were scared shitless of Kakashi’s Chidori and seemed frozen in place. Sasuke saw the annoyed look on Neji’s face and couldn’t blame him. It was no fun when they stopped fighting back.

“Tell you what,” Kakashi offered, still smiling his playful grin, stepping closer to the men without fear. “Drop the guns and we’ll fight you hand to hand, fair and square.”

Not _quite_ fair, with Neji of the gentle fist approaching, ready to do business. Sasuke had sparred with the man more often than most. He was able to hold his own against him but had to admit there was nothing gentle about that misnamed technique. Neji was vicious with it and Sasuke found his taijutsu more formidable than his tenketsu, even if Neji had come to be known for the latter.

The men did drop the guns as Kakashi instructed. And promptly fell to their knees, hands above their heads, surrendering immediately. 

Sasuke snorted. Cowards. 

He swiftly put the rest of the men under his genjutsu as Kakashi called Sakura forth to set a seal to keep them all in place just in case the illusion slipped or one of them managed to break free. It was unlikely, but they weren’t stupid enough to take the chance. At least Sakura would prove useful in _some_ way. Not that any of the rest of them were incapable of setting a seal. Sasuke suspected Kakashi had simply wanted her to feel included.

They entered the building together. Neji suggested they split off into two teams to cover more ground, but Kakashi quickly vetoed that option. 

“Sakura will be a liability to whoever she’s paired with,” Sasuke pointed out, when Neji frowned in confusion. 

“Sasuke,” Kakashi scolded, but didn’t correct the assumption. Most likely because he was right.

“No,” Sakura mumbled, eyes on the ground. “He’s right. I was useless out there.”

“Tch,” Sasuke said, never one to join in on a pity party. “You don’t need to tell us. You need to pull yourself together. This is only a B ranked mission. You should be able to handle it.”

“Stop feeling bad for yourself,” Neji instructed her, his Byakugan directed ahead of them. “Do better.” His tone was neither kind nor cruel. He was giving her advice, pure and simple. Neji and Sasuke got along for a great many reasons, but Neji’s refusal to beat around the bush or soften harsh truths might have been the biggest. 

Sasuke doubted his friend even disliked Sakura, though he reasoned that that was because Neji didn’t have to live with her. Orphaned by the attack of the Masked Man on their home years ago, Sakura had been taken in, a ward of Uchiha House. Sasuke might not dislike her so much himself if she wasn’t always _there_ , shadowing his every move, always watching him, never being of much use.

“Enough chit-chat,” Kakashi said, his words belied by the easy going grin he never seemed to lose. “We have work to do. These halls won’t be empty, you know.”

“There’s no one here that could be a match for us,” Sasuke replied, though his Sharingan flared back to life at the reprimand. Kakashi was right. They had a job to do.

“Be that as it may, we’re here for a reason,” Kakashi said. “We all need to focus. You and Neji, in particular.”

“Your Sharingan works almost as well as any Uchiha’s,” Sasuke pointed out, albeit under his breath. Kakashi heard him anyway.

“Are you questioning my work ethic?” Kakashi challenged, feigning offense. “ _I’m_ focused. You should follow my example.”

Sasuke’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue the matter further. His sensei was right, anyway. He had better things to do than chat about Sakura’s uselessness. 

“There are twelve – no, _thirteen_ men in the room at the end of the hall to our left,” Neji said, staring off into the distance. “Seven more in the room just beyond it. They’re protecting something.”

“There are a few more in the rooms along the way,” Sasuke chimed in. 

Kakashi nodded. “Neji and Sasuke, take the far room,” he said, his Sharingan scanning the doors that lined the corridor they were hurrying down. “Sakura and I will clear the stragglers.”

“But…” Sakura started.

Neji turned his veined eyes on her, glaring. “Do better,” he snapped, never appreciative of having to repeat himself. “You’re a kunoichi of Konohagakure. Act like it.”

Kakashi did nothing to scold him, even though Neji was just reiterating what Sasuke had been trying to say to the girl all night. Sasuke scowled at his teacher, wondering not for the first time why Kakashi was always letting Neji get away with behaviors he made a point to single Sasuke out for.

Kakashi smirked in response to Sasuke’s glare. Sasuke didn’t give him the satisfaction of voicing his discontent aloud, knowing Kakashi would find a way to turn it around on him. He turned his attention instead to his friend and fellow teammate. 

“Take lead,” he suggested as the two of them advanced, widening their stride and leaving Kakashi and Sakura behind. “Be ready to use your palm rotation if they fire.”

“Hm,” Neji hummed with a nod. “It’s not my first time.” He cocked his head. “But actually, I think you should take lead. They’re in an enclosed space. The back door to the first room is closed. The great Uchiha Fireball technique might be the way to go.”

“Hn,” Sasuke grunted back, liking the idea. However… “It’s messy. Yondaime-sama wanted us to get this done with minimal casualties.”

“I don’t think it’ll kill them,” Neji argued. “I’m not saying you should over do it. But you saw how they were back there with Kakashi’s Chidori. This lot is quick to surrender.”

Sasuke sneered. That much was true. “Fine,” he agreed with a shrug, stepping forward to lead the way. It wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate the opportunity to put his techniques to practical use.

They approached the door, keeping their steps silent. Sasuke’s Sharingan wasn’t quite as effective as the Byakugan when it came to seeing through thick walls, but it was enough for the flimsy wooden door that separated him and Neji from the party behind it. There were two men right up against it, likely listening for anyone advancing. Sasuke scanned the hall they were walking down for cameras, but found none. It didn’t mean they weren’t there, but if they were, he doubted the men behind the door had access to the feed if they were listening at the door. He lifted his hands to weave the seals for the first technique he’d ever learned. 

Neji reached around him to grasp the handle of the door just as he was finishing. It was likely locked, but Neji didn’t bother turning the knob, simply used his tenketsu, directing focused chakra from his hand to force the door open, sending the two men that had been against it flying. There was a commotion in the room as the rest of the men gathered hastened to defend but they were already much too late. Sasuke had already inhaled before Neji forced the door open. He exhaled right on cue sending his flames into the room, grabbing the broken door as he let it out and shut it on the shrill sound of the men’s screams.

“Hn,” he grunted, shooting a smirk over his shoulder at Neji, who was already returning it. They’d always worked together well. The only person that Sasuke had ever been more in sync with was…

Well. He didn’t like thinking about that.

He and Neji watched through the door as the men scrambled, some falling to the ground to try and put out the flames, some simply running around as they screamed in pain. Only one or two had the wherewithal to make for the exits, but in their panic they’d run at the door Sasuke and Neji were holding closed instead of the door at the back of the room. 

Sasuke had been on fire before. He couldn’t exactly blame these ones for being idiots. Having any part of your body consumed by fire didn’t exactly lend to reasonable minds.

“Shall we let them out?” Neji asked, already shifting into a fighting stance, a visible coat of chakra seeping from him to shield him from the flames. Sasuke followed suit, taking the necessary precautions to protect himself as well. 

“If you insist,” Sasuke granted, releasing the doorknob and taking a quick step back.

The door was immediate ripped open and two men rushed through it.

And immediately fell face first on the ground, passed out from pain or smoke inhalation, Sasuke couldn’t guess which.

Neji sighed. “This is really…boring,” he said, weaving signs for a water release technique to get rid of the fire and spare the men’s lives, though they’d still be in a great deal of pain if they woke up. There would be no need to seal these men in place. He put out the flames in the room as well, sighing. “The men in the inner room have moved deeper into the complex.”

“We should advance then,” Sasuke said, moving to do just that.

“We should get Kakashi first,” Neji objected, even as he moved to Sasuke’s side.

“No need,” Kakashi chimed in from behind. “I’m here.” His eyes took in the destruction. “I may have made a mistake in sending you two to take care of these ones.” He nudged one of the fallen men with his foot, inciting a feeble groan of pain from the unconscious figure. “Mah. I guess if it works…”

“They’ll live,” Sasuke said, uncaring of how miserable they’d be in the meantime. As far as he was aware, the men were some of the worst examples of mankind. The mission debrief had given them all sorts of insight into the crimes they committed and facilitated, everything from drug dealing to human trafficking. The world would be better off without them. Sasuke was pretty sure the no kill order was more for their sake than for these criminals. They hated to draw attention to themselves when it wasn’t necessary and Yondaime-sama was always a bit squeamish about sending the younger ones in with instructions to kill people. 

At fifteen, Sasuke had long since gotten over the sick feeling that used to wash over him when an adversary died at his hands. He took no real pleasure in the kill, but he didn’t shy away from it. He wouldn’t allow men like this to take his life and he’d never let a comrade fall because he was too cowardly to do what needed to be done. He’d been trained well and Kakashi had drilled that lesson into all of his students’ minds. _When it’s us or them,_ his sensei had said over and over, in some of the only moments Sasuke could ever remember him being completely serious, _chose them every time. Be quick and precise._ It was as simple as that.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura long enough to note that she was healing a wound she’d gotten on her arm and her face was streaked with tears. 

“Are you alright,” Neji asked her. “Can you proceed?”

Sakura lifted her chin. “I’m fine,” she said, apparently having found some pride. “We should go, yes?”

Sasuke arched a brow at her change in attitude, but kept his comments to himself, turning to lead their party forward. Neji would stop him if he caught something with his Byakugan that Sasuke didn’t. 

They moved from one room to the next and then into another long corridor lined with more doors. The rooms were all empty as far as Sasuke could tell, and try as he might, he couldn’t see far enough ahead to figure out which way the others had gone. 

“Neji?” he prompted, coming to a halt. It would do to roam around aimlessly.

Neji grunted. “Hinata’s Byakugan is stronger than mine,” he said, his voice colored with something like shame. “I can’t see them. But there’s an elevator through one of the doors at the end of the hall.”

“Your tenketsu is stronger than the Hyuuga clan has ever seen,” Sasuke said, quick to point out his friend’s strengths. It was a matter of pride. Neji was on _his_ team, after all. “We’ll find them eventually. They’ve got nowhere to run. If they manage to get out, they’ll run up against the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.”

“So we’ll try the elevator,” Kakashi decided, ushering them all forward again. He reached into his pocket. “Heads or tails, Sakura?”

“Huh?” the girl said with a distracted frown. 

“Heads or tails,” Kakashi repeated. “Head, we go up. Tails, we go down.”

“You’re going to decide by flipping a coin?” Sakura said with shock.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. It didn’t matter how they decided. They’d have to choose one or the other and they didn’t have enough information to lean towards either option. Flipping a coin would simply settle the matter quickly, keep them from wasting time debating. 

Or rather, that would have been the case if there had been an actual choice. They’d be going down. Sasuke wasn’t sure if it was the excitement of the mission or if the girl was really that stupid. There had been high towers surrounding the compound but the main building – the one they were in – clearly only had a single level, above ground anyway. If there were any more, they’d be below ground.

Sasuke had been on team Kakashi since he graduated the academy and was more than familiar with his ridiculous little tests. While Sakura was normally on Kurenai sensei’s team, even she shouldn’t have missed this one. 

Kakashi wasn’t an official part of House Uchiha, but he was a pretty constant fixture. He was Itachi’s closest friend, and Sasuke knew the man felt he had a debt to repay whatever Uchiha had given him his eye. Sasuke had never gotten the full story. Kakashi outright refused to answer any questions about the matter. Sasuke was pretty sure Itachi knew, but his brother was just as reluctant to share whenever Sasuke brought it up. It annoyed Sasuke to no end. He hated when Itachi kept secrets, but he’d always been able to tell that this particular secret weighed heavily on his older brother so he’d never pushed particularly hard. That didn’t mean he wasn’t curious.

Nevertheless, Kakashi was around enough for Sakura to be familiar with his games as an actual ward of House Uchiha and only an idiot could have missed that there would be no going up on the elevator.

“Tch,” Sasuke said, putting an end to his sensei’s fun. “We’ll go down if it’s heads, and down if it’s tails,” he said, bored with the simple test.

“There is no second floor,” Neji added unnecessarily. Or, perhaps not. Sasuke noted Sakura’s blush as she finally caught on. “That was an easy one, sensei.”

“Only if you use your dojutsu to cheat,” Kakashi grumbled.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t take a dojutsu to observe the building from the outside,” he said, unwilling to let Sakura off the hook. Being let off the hook was likely how she ended up so useless in the first place.

“Fine, fine,” Kakashi said, waving them off as he put the coin back in his pocket. “The next one will be more difficult.”

Neji and Sasuke snorted as one. Lee got a kick out of Kakashi’s small challenges. Neji and Sasuke did not.

“I can see them now,” Neji said after they were on the elevator and had begun to descend. “They…they’re going to run into Itachi-sensei and Naruto before we get to them.” His brow furrowed as he frowned. “Why the hell isn’t Hinata-sama with them?”

“You know she can handle herself, right?” Kakashi pointed out serenely. “Her gentle fist is as formidable as your own.”

“That isn’t the _point_ ,” Neji snarled, reaching out to jab at the already lit button of the elevator as if that would make it move faster. “I can’t _see_ her. She’s not with them.”

“Calm down,” Kakashi scolded, but his reprimand fell on deaf ears. Neji was never reasonable when it came to Hinata. 

“ _Neji_ ,” Kakashi snapped, taking him by the shoulder and forcing the young Hyuuga to face him. “Find your wits,” Kakashi commanded, his ever present grin slipping into a glare. “Call for a check with Ino and Shikamaru if you must, but get it together. Now.”

Neji clenched his jaw, ripping out of Kakashi’s grip, but he settled. His hands clenched into fists and he glared at the elevator door. 

Sasuke didn’t hear him call for the check, obviously, but he heard Shikamaru’s response through Ino’s mind transmission jutsu. Hinata was fine, fully protected by Gaara’s sand, having been paired with the red headed psychopath. Sasuke was not a fan of Gaara’s and neither was Neji, but they both knew he was competent enough. No one could deny he had the best defense of any of their peers and while Gaara may not have been originally from Konohagakure as the rest of them were, he was _clan_ now. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Hinata.

Neji relaxed minutely at the information, lifting his chin as he refocused, though his shoulders remained stiff with tension. 

“What is my brother doing?” Sasuke asked for no other reason than to give his comrade something else to focus on. Besides, he _was_ curious.

Neji cleared his throat. “I think he’s used Amaterasu,” he replied. The elevator dinged and the doors open. All four of them stepped off.

“Looks like there was a thick door blocking their path,” he went on. “I’m guessing Naruto couldn’t take it down with brute force.” He cocked his head. “Naruto appears to be keeping watch a ways down the hall away from the flames of Amaterasu. The men we’re after will encounter him first.”

Sasuke felt more than saw his sensei tense. He always was such a mother hen when it came to Naruto. Sasuke and Naruto weren’t speaking and they wouldn’t ever be close as they’d been as children, but Sasuke knew better than to think a mission like this would be anything like a problem for his rival. Naruto, idiot though he was, was _not_ precisely useless. Quite the opposite. Heir to one of the five noble houses left, Uzumaki Naruto was a force to be reckoned with. He was a _moron_ , for all intents and purposes but with Itachi leading his team, Naruto’s lack of real intellect wasn’t much of a hindrance. 

But Kakashi sensei had been the one to take care of Uzumaki Kushina when she was pregnant. And when she’d died, Kakashi had been the one to step up to take care of Naruto when Minato lost it and disappeared for a few years, leaving Naruto at the mercy of a clan that feared him more than they cared for him. Kakashi had been the one to lead the search when Naruto had been taken from Konoha shortly before Minato returned and they all fled to their new home.

Sasuke didn’t like to think of _that_ either. That, too, was a long time ago, too long ago to dwell on. Naruto was no longer his friend or his concern. But he would always be Kakashi’s and Kakashi would always worry, whether there was a need for it or not. Itachi was the same, never seeming to remember that Sasuke was more than capable of taking care of himself. 

Sasuke pretended not to notice when Kakashi picked up the pace of his steps, widening his stride to match his sensei without a word. 

He cleared his throat. “Even the dobe won’t have a problem with the idiots they have keeping watch on this place,” he said with nothing in his tone to belie the nonchalance he was putting on.

“Hm,” Neji hummed in agreement, likely having caught on to the shift in their sensei as well. “I almost feel bad for them. Naruto’s not the greatest at holding back.”

Sasuke almost snorted at how very untrue that statement was, but he held it in. It had been a very long time since he had a right to claim to know Naruto better than anyone else. It was still a fact, though, and the truth was, Sasuke was well aware that Naruto held back more than any of them. 

“I know what you two are up to,” Kakashi commented, aloof, though he kept his rapid pace. “It’s unnecessary. I’m not worried,” he lied.

“They’re closing in,” Neji said, likely dismissing Kakashi’s claim just as Sasuke had. They knew him too well to buy it. “I think… I’m pretty sure Naruto’s noticed them approaching. He’s summoned his shadow clones.”

“Does he even _know_ any other techniques?” Sakura snipped. Hn. And she called herself Naruto’s friend? Sasuke kept his mouth shut, ignoring the urge to defend the blond. 

“Do _you_ know any at all?” Neji challenged, cool and rational. Yes, there were many reasons Sasuke appreciated the Hyuuga’s friendship. “His shadow clones are a useful distraction technique with any adversary and with this lot… well, it doesn’t take much.” Neji shrugged. “It doesn’t matter how much he uses it as long as it works.”

Sasuke quelled his responding smirk. Neji would see it, even from behind him. 

“Naruto is more than capable,” Kakashi agreed, not bothering to defend Sakura, though Sasuke suspected that he wouldn’t have even if Sasuke had been the one to shoot her down. He was ruthless when it came to Naruto. “It’s been a long while since I’ve seen him in action outside of practice,” his sensei justified. “I’d like to see how far he’s come.”

“He’s mastered the Flying Raijinn,” Sakura put in, quietly changing her tune. 

Kakashi chuckled. “Well, yes, I know,” he said. “He’s still my brother. I train with him daily. It’s just been awhile since we’ve been assigned the same mission.”

Kakashi and Naruto were not brothers. They were not bound by blood in that way. The entirety of Konohagakure clan knew better than to ever try and point that out to either of them, though.

Sasuke knew it didn’t matter. Naruto and Kakashi were every bit as close as Sasuke was with his own brother. In some ways, they seemed even closer, if only for the fact that Naruto didn’t ever seem bothered by the burden of trying to catch up with Kakashi the way Sasuke felt inclined to with his own brother. No, Naruto had always been more concerned with surpassing his father. The two seemed to have a complicated relationship. Sasuke sometimes wondered if it had improved at all since he and Naruto had stopped speaking. He assumed that had to be the case if Naruto had learned the Flying Raijinn. 

“Did he learn it from Nidaime-sama?” Sasuke asked, the words slipping out before he could stop them, his curiosity getting the best of him. He usually kept a tight lid on it. He couldn’t hope Kakashi would keep the moments he slipped hidden from his younger brother, anymore than Itachi would hide things from Sasuke. 

Sasuke was pretty sure he was Kakashi’s favorite pupil, even if outwardly Kakashi seemed to be harder on him than he was on Sasuke’s fellow teammates. As Itachi’s closest and oldest friend, Kakashi had been around since before Sasuke had memory. But _no one_ came before Naruto.

“Nope,” Kakashi responded, taking a moment to shoot Sasuke a grin over his shoulder. “Minato-sensei taught him. You should have seen his face when Naruto achieved his first jump on his first day of practice.” He laughed at the memory. “It was even better than when he learned the Rasengan.”

Sasuke had been there for that, at least. Naruto had shocked more than Lord Fourth with that one. He’d surprised even Sasuke. They’d only been eleven at the time. Never one to be outdone, Sasuke had responded by accosting Kakashi, demanding to learn an A-rank technique himself. It took some needling but Kakashi had eventually folded and passed his Chidori on to Sasuke. 

“Actually, Sasuke,” Kakashi went on, even as they sped down the corridor. “Jiraiya and I have been working with him to change the nature of the Rasengan, and not just its form the way Minato-sensei was never able to.”

Kakashi could never keep himself from bragging about Naruto. Sasuke generally pretended to complain, but didn’t just then. It would be a bit silly given that he’d been the one to ask in the first place.

Sasuke frowned. Chidori was a change in chakra nature, but not form; the opposite of the Rasengan. Sasuke was certain he could master the additional change in form with proper practice. It irritated him that he hadn’t considered doing so before. Naruto had a head start on him _again_ and Sasuke’s mind raced with ideas as to how to catch up, perhaps even beat his old rival to the finish line.

“Dobe,” he grumbled under his breath. “Has an unfair advantage with one of the Legendary Sanin taking an interest in him.”

“Orochimaru’s taken an interest in _you_ ,” Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke scowled. “That is hardly the same thing.” He suppressed a shudder. Orochimaru was a creepy pervert. That was the beginning and end of his story. Sasuke was more than happy to make due with the teachers he already had. Kakashi and Itachi were two of the best ninja Konohagakure clan had to offer. They were nothing to scoff at. Orochimaru could keep all of his knowledge and power to himself, and his eyes off Sasuke’s body, thank you very much.

“They’re all down,” Neji chimed in and Sasuke realized he’d been silent because he’d been watching the battle ahead. “Naruto’s clones handled it. They didn’t even get close.”

“How far are we?” Kakashi asked. 

Neji squinted. “We’ll catch up before Itachi’s Amaterasu burns through the door, I think.”

“Let’s make sure of it,” Kakashi said, hastening his steps again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“If hell exists, I think it’s made up of your black flames,” Naruto commented as he joined Itachi, his clones having dispelled themselves after their fight. He’d lost two to gunfire, and the other three had dispatched the seven men that had been approaching behind them. “Can’t you make them…less hot?”

Itachi snorted, cuffing Naruto upside the head. “Go back down the hall if you can’t take the heat.”

Naruto glared at his teacher, raising his hand to rub the back of his head where Itachi hit him. “I can take it if you can.”

Itachi chuckled, shooting Naruto a look that was fondly exasperated. Itachi seemed to reserve that look specifically for him. Well… him and Sasuke. 

“Go down the hall, Naruto,” Itachi sensei instructed. “You have nothing to prove. Besides, Kakashi will be here shortly. I can sense his chakra even if I can’t actually see him yet.”

“How?” Naruto asked, genuinely curious. He’d known already, of course, that his brother was moving in their direction. He’d sensed his chakra a few minutes ago, along with Sasuke, Neji, and Sakura-chan’s but Itachi was not a sensor type like he was.

Itachi coughed, Sharingan seeming to spin as he pulled the flame of Amaterasu back, the thick metal door having melted under the intense heat. “Kakashi is my brother too, in a different way,” he responded. Naruto wasn’t sure that answered his question, but he let the matter drop, if only because watching the black flame return to Itachi was more distracting that he would have expected.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” he asked, lifting his arm to his face to shield himself from the intense heat.

“Very much and every time,” Itachi replied his tone easy and unbothered. No one would have been able to guess as much if Itachi hadn’t confirmed it. He wasn’t flinching at all. “I’ve endured far more painful things than this.”

Naruto didn’t respond. He was well aware that both Itachi and Kakashi had been around for that first battle with the Masked Man that had forced them all away from their home. Both men had been young, far too young to have bourn witness to the death of the majority of their village, but Naruto knew they’d both been involved in the battle anyway, in spite of their young age. Kakashi dodged every question Naruto had ever asked on the subject, while Itachi sensei had a way of making certain Naruto never got the questions out to begin with so Naruto didn’t know very many of the specifics. The scars the incident left on both men were more than visible, to Naruto anyway.

Senju-sama was the only one that ever spoke of _before_. Perhaps being a reanimation made remembering easier for him. Shodaime-sama often told all of them the stories, of how Konohagakure had been when it was a large village, made up of many proud clans. Their numbers had been decimated by the Masked Man and clans that had once been made up of numerous families had only a few members. They’d formed a single clan– Konohagakure clan, named for their beloved home – made up of the five noble houses that were left and those that had been robbed of all familial ties by Madara’s attack with the Kyuubi. 

Returning to Konoha was a dream they all shared, from the oldest to the youngest of them. Naruto could barely remember Konoha, but he shared an instinctive longing for it.

Naruto’s own House consisted of only him, his father, and Karin now. Uzumaki house had taken in others as all their remaining houses had – like Kakashi, for one, along with quite a few others that had been orphaned by the attack – but it was only the three of them that carried the Uzumaki blood. Naruto had been told that the Uzumaki clan had once been large enough to have its own village. Three was all that was left. The Uchiha clan, almost as large as the Uzumaki clan, had also been whittled down to just three. 

The Hyuuga clan, once hailed the most powerful in all of Konoha, had a grand total of _four_ true blooded clan members. To keep their blood pure, Hinata had been promised to Neji since childhood. They were first cousins, but they would marry to keep the coveted Byakugan alive and hopefully rebuild their once proud clan. At least they had the option. House Senju had lost all of its young. House Uchiha had only males left. 

Naruto supposed he could marry his own cousin, Karin, for the same reasons, but was grateful his father felt far too much guilt to force that onto Naruto or Karin. Naruto shuddered at the thought.

The tragedy of how they’d fallen was something not even Shodaime-sama touched in his stories. Everyone that had been around for it avoided the subject so diligently, Naruto was almost afraid of knowing the truth now.

“It’s not the time for getting lost in thought,” Itachi commented as the last of his flames returned to him. “I know you think yourself above this mission, but it _is_ an important one. We need to retrieve the Scroll of Seals. Even if those that took it have no idea what it is, we must get it back.”

Naruto sighed, shaking his head mostly to clear it and get back on track. “I don’t think I’m ‘above it’,” he protested, scowling. “I just wish dad would let us test our skills against other shinobi,” he said. “I know you and Kakash and Guy-sensei go on missions with other nin involved,” he confessed. “It’d be nice to fight someone that might actually be able to fight back, that’s all.” 

Itachi sighed. It was far from the first time he’d listened to Naruto complaints on the subject. “It’s not as simple as you think it is, Naruto.”

“Because of the Kyuubi,” he spat, full of bitterness, hand moving to his stomach on impulse. 

“What about the Kyuubi?” Kakashi said as he joined them. “Did something happen? Neji didn’t mention anything.” Kakashi shot a glare over his shoulder at his pupil.

“I didn’t see anything like that,” Neji replied.

“Naru-chan was just whining again about how this mission isn’t good enough for him,” Itachi informed his best friend.

“Oi!” Naruto shouted, impulsively kicking his sensei in the back of his ankle before ducking behind his brother to take refuge. He doubted the kick was enough to piss his sensei off, but it was better not to take any chances. Itachi only looked the part of an angel. He was a fierce monster when provoked and Naruto had seen that shift too many times not to be wary of it.

“Tsk, tsk,” Kakashi said, pulling Naruto from behind him. “If you’re going to start a fight, you’ll stand to face your adversary like a man.”

Naruto glared at his treacherous brother. “Kakashi-nii,” he whined, widening his eyes and pouting. Kakashi was a sucker for the pout. “Itachi sensei can literally kill me with a single look. It’s an unfair fight.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Then it’s one you shouldn’t have started, isn’t it?”

Naruto swiftly kicked Kakashi in the shins and rushed back to join Itachi, who was giving him that look again, full of fond exasperation. He ducked behind Itachi, sticking his tongue out at his brother, who was outright smiling at Naruto’s antics.

“This is a waste of time. Moron,” Sasuke said with a sneer, and Naruto’s good mood vanished. 

He and Sasuke had been close once. But that was a long time ago. Naruto was never sure what exactly happened, but Sasuke had transformed into a massive _dick_ , seemingly overnight and refused to have anything further to do with Naruto. For years, Naruto had done nothing but try to win his friend back, only to have all of his efforts shot down with a vicious cruelty. Naruto wasn’t giving up – he never would – but he’d backed off some, trying to find a different approach. Nothing he tried so far had worked.

However, just because he was determined to get his friend back, didn’t mean Naruto would just let the asshole walk all over him. 

“What’s the matter, Sasuke,” Naruto chirped, shooting a glare at his erstwhile rival. “These helpless civilians give you lots of trouble? Need me to be quiet to keep your focus?”

“I think we all need you to keep quiet to keep our sanity,” Sakura-chan chimed in with a smirk.

Naruto grinned back, no stranger to her constant teasing. “Sakura-chan,” he groaned as was expected. “You’re supposed to be on _my_ side.”

“Sasuke is right,” Itachi cut in before Sakura could reply. “We need to keep moving forward.”

“Yes,” Neji agreed. “I’d like to find Hinata-sama. Now.”

Naruto shook his head, directing his chakra to his feet as he stepped through the puddle of melted door, following Itachi. “The obsession you have with your cousin is pretty creepy, Neji,” he commented conversationally as the pressed forward.

“Sister,” Neji corrected without shame, not bothering to defend himself against the rest of Naruto’s jab. 

“You understand that ‘sister’ makes it even weirder, don’t you,” Naruto teased. He didn’t really mean it. Neji was a friend and so was Hinata. He was glad that neither of them seemed too unhappy with their arranged future with one another. Naruto wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle such a thing so gracefully in their same position. 

“Weird,” Neji repeated with a shrug, face twisting in confusion. “Why should that matter to me?”

Naruto let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “At any rate, you get that Hinata’s a beast, don’t you? I mean, I’m pretty sure she killed a few of the guys she fought tonight.” More than pretty sure. He thought of the sound the last man she dispatched made as his skull made contact with the concrete and flinched. “She’s pretty terrifying once she gets going, actually.”

“Hn,” Itachi agreed, keeping his eyes straight ahead, even as Neji’s shifted in every direction, on constant guard. “All of my students are acceptable.”

Naruto beamed, deciding to take the compliment as if it were directed at him alone. Gaara and Hinata weren’t there to appreciate it anyway.

“I have no doubt Hinata-sama can handle herself,” Neji replied. “I simply prefer if she didn’t have to.”

“Gaara’s with her,” Naruto pointed out.

Neji scowled. “I know,” he said, eyes shifting around that much quicker. “We should pick up the pace.”

Naruto groaned. “You’ve spent too much time with Lee.” He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing. “She’s close, actually,” he informed his friend. “You can’t see her yet? Strange. I bet she can see us.”

Neji turned his glare on Naruto, but only for a second, his gaze shifting away again as he mumbled something about his Byakugan under his breath. 

“What’s that?” Naruto asked, shifting closer to his friend, trying not to notice the way Sasuke shifted further away as he did. Asshole.

Neji exhaled through his nose, turning back to face Naruto once more. “Which direction,” he asked, not looking happy to be doing so. At all.

Naruto smirked. “Straight ahead,” he replied full of cheer, always happy to be of assistance. He knew it would get under Neji’s skin that much more.

Neji didn’t bother showing it, though, just shifted his eyes forward, veins bulging even more as he tried to focus his sight to find Hinata. 

“I can almost…” he squinted and then his eyes widened just as their world shook as a great impact rocked the complex, the fluorescent lights flickering before going out entirely. 

Neji broke into an immediate run. 

“Fuck,” Naruto spat as he went blind. He felt a hand on his shoulder, but wasn’t sure if it was his brother or Itachi that had grabbed him to lead him through the darkness. He and Sakura were the only ones without a dojutsu to enhance their sight in the darkness. “What the hell was that?” he asked anyone who might be listening. The hand on his shoulder pressed him forward.

“Just run, dobe,” he heard and almost tripped over his feet when he realized it was Sasuke directing his steps. 

“Sasuke?” he gasped, barely able to put one foot in front of the other. 

“Shut up and run,” Sasuke commanded. “We’re falling behind.”

“Asshole,” Naruto grumbled, but did as he was told.

“Idiot.”

*

There had been an explosion of some sort. Naruto’s eyes had adjusted as much as they were going to in the thick darkness, but he still couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He could smell the smoke though.

He’d been able to see only for a moment when Neji lit the halls with pure chakra to blast his way through a steel fucking door, a minor obstacle in his panicked state of mind. 

“Hinata!” he shouted, coughing when he took a breath to yell out again. “Hinata!” His voice was already hoarse with the effort it took to breathe.

The smoke was thick and cloying. Naruto could taste it. He could hardly believe Neji found it in him to shout. Naruto was already lightheaded for the lack of oxygen.

“Wind style,” he heard his brother intone on a rasp from somewhere at his left. “Great breakthrough jutsu.”

It took a few more moments, but Naruto was slowly able to take in air again. He hard Sasuke gasping beside him as oxygen returned to the room.

“Fire release,” Naruto heard Itachi whisper. “Phoenix sage fire jutsu.”

It was on the tip of Naruto’s tongue to question the wisdom in introducing more fire to their environment but the room lit up, returning his sight and he couldn’t find it in him to complain. Itachi used his chakra to direct the balls of flame surrounding them, but kept them out of reach of being able to do any damage.

Sasuke’s hand immediately left his shoulder. Naruto had a moment of insanity where he questioned whether it was really worth as much as he thought it was to be able to see. He shrugged the feeling off as quickly as he could.

“Hinata!” Neji shouted again.

“I’m here,” came the soft melodic tones of Hinata’s voice. Gaara’s sand was still falling from around her. “Neji niisan. I’m here. I’m okay. Gaara kept us safe.”

Gaara grunted. “I’ve never seen a weapon like that before. It was…interesting.”

Naruto rushed forward to join his teammates. “You’re hurt,” he informed Gaara, eyes set upon the nasty looking burn that covered his left arm.

Gaara looked down at the wound. “Hm,” he said, apathetic. “It seems I am.”

Naruto reached up to grasp his friend’s shoulder, even as he looked behind him. “Sakura-chan,” he called her name with some urgency. 

Gaara snorted. “It doesn’t hurt, Naruto.”

Naruto didn’t dignify that with a response, keeping his eyes on Sakura as she approached.

“It’s not bad,” she reassured Naruto once she was close enough to see. “I can fix it.”

“You’re certain?” Itachi asked, suddenly at Naruto’s side, eyes grim, lips pressed together in a thin, tight line.

“I can do it,” Sakura insisted, determined. Her tongued peeked out the side of her mouth as she lifted her hands and began her work.

Naruto was sure that she could, but he’d never wished for the presence of his cousin, Karin, more. Sakura was only just beginning her training as a medic, after all, and Karin’s method of healing was quick and foolproof.

“At least I don’t have to bite your cousin,” Gaara commented as if reading his mind. 

Naruto shot him a grin he didn’t quite feel. Gaara had a tolerance to pain that was almost inhuman, but Naruto hated seeing any of his teammates bleed with a passion. 

It took her a few minutes longer than it would have taken Karin but Sakura got the job done. “How’s that feel?” she asked Gaara as she stepped back.

Gaara gave her a blank stare. “About the same,” he answered honestly. Remembering the manners their clan had painstakingly been trying to teach him, he added an empty, “Thank you.”

“Uhm,” Sakura replied, baffled. “You’re welcome?”

Naruto turned her to face him and wrapped her in a quick hug, pulling away before she could slap him for it. “Thank you,” he repeated with all of the sincerity Gaara still hadn’t learned to fake. 

Sakura blushed. “It was nothing, really.”

“We have to keep moving,” Hinata said, an urgency in her usually calm tone. “Neji niisan, can you see…?”

Neji followed her line of sight, his arm still wrapped tight around her shoulders. “I can, but… _shit_.”

Hinata’s Byakugan was glossed over with tears that had yet to fall. “We have to help them.”

“Huh?” Naruto said full of confusion. “Help? Since when are we here to help any of these bastards?” Neither Hyuuga responded to his inquiry, leading their group forward with quick steps toward the other side of the room they were in. Neji made quick work of the locked door on the other side of it. Sasuke gasped as soon as it was open.

“Shit,” Sasuke parroted Neji’s exclamation.

“What?!” Naruto whined, seeing nothing more than a short, empty hall before them. “What is it?”

Itachi moved with inhuman speed to block Kakashi’s path before Naruto even realized his brother was surging forward. 

“Move,” Kakashi commanded, ice coating his tone so much that it was almost unrecognizable. 

“No,” Itachi sensei replied, meeting Kakashi’s cold gaze head on. “You’ll stay here with Naruto and guard the rear.”

“What the fuck?” Naruto immediately protested, shaking his head. If there was real action ahead, he wasn’t about to be excluded. “No way!”

“Naruto,” Itachi snapped, not shifting his gaze away from Kakashi. “You’ll do as you’re told.”

“You’re not my captain,” Kakashi said, his voice low, eyes blazing. Naruto longed for a dojutsu of his own so he too could see through the fucking door that was at the end of the hall. Something had everyone twisted up in fits and he hated being out of the loop.

“You’ll stay with your brother, Kakash,” Itachi repeated. “Or don’t you trust me to handle this?”

“ _Itachi_ ,” Kakashi started, but clenched his jaw and closed his eyes instead of finishing the sentence, taking a few breaths through his nose to steady himself. When he opened them again, Naruto almost choked at the look of them.

“Kill them, Itach,” he whispered, meeting his friends gaze. “All of them.”

Itachi lifted his chin. “Hn,” was his only reply. It was enough, it seemed, to sooth Kakashi. He turned his gaze on the rest of their group. “Gaara, Hinata, and Neji with me,” he commanded and the two young men fell into step on either side of him. “Everyone else will stay put.”

“Hinata will stay put as well,” Neji argued and Naruto flinched. He supposed he really couldn’t blame Neji. He wasn’t on Itachi’s team and didn’t know better.

“Hinata will do as I say,” Itachi replied, his voice set low and dangerous, Sharingan flaring to life. “So will you.”

“Don’t argue, Neji,” Kakashi put in for good measure, but Naruto doubted Neji had been about to. 

Itachi didn’t waste any more time on the matter, eyes on their destination. “Gaara, take the door.”

Gaara’s sand began pouring out of his gourd. 

“When we get in, you three will retrieve the children,” Itachi commanded. “You’re to leave the rest to me. Get the kids and return to Kakashi.”

Naruto froze. Kids?

He opened his mouth to ask but his words were drowned out by the sound of Gaara’s sand making contact with the door, breaking it down with little fanfare. As soon as it was gone, the sounds of a young girl screaming pierced the air. Naruto’s body moved without his command. Kakashi caught him before he could get far. 

“They’ve got this, Naruto,” Kakashi said, wrapping him up in a tight embrace. “Just wait. I can’t let you go in there.”

“Niichan,” Naruto said, voice shaking as he fought against his brother’s grip. Something inside of him was spinning out of control. His stomach twisted, making him feel sick and his sight blurred. He had gotten so much better at controlling his emotions lately, but he couldn’t understand the source of this reaction to counter it. He was helpless against the feelings surging through him. “I can’t just…I have to…”

“I know,” Kakashi cut him off, gripping tighter. “I know. It’s okay. Keep fighting me. I’ve got you.”

“Shit,” he heard Sasuke repeat, but the sound was far off, insignificant. Naruto was lost in the sounds of the girl screaming. It was a familiar sound, but one Naruto couldn’t quite place, the memories too far removed from his consciousness. Bile rose up in his throat all the same.

“What is this?” Sakura shouted to be heard over the screams. “What’s happening to Naruto?”

“You have to calm down,” Sasuke said, but Naruto couldn’t tell who he was speaking to. Sakura? It didn’t matter. Naruto needed to get into that room. He needed to stop the screaming.

“You’re hurting your brother, Naruto. You have to calm _down_.” Sasuke was suddenly directly in front of him. “ _Now_ ,” Sasuke snapped and directed a hit right at the center of Naruto’s chest, flinching back immediately, cradling his hand to his chest. “Naruto! You have to stop.”

“He’s fine,” Kakashi insisted, his grip never faltering. “Just back away Sasuke. It doesn’t hurt much. I’ve got him.” 

“You don’t,” Sasuke retorted. “He’ll kill you if he keeps this up.”

That was enough to break through Naruto’s mania. Kill Kakashi? How? He would never. He was only thrashing against Kakashi’s hold. He’d had nightmares that left him thrashing harder.

His eyes cleared enough to see the wound Sasuke sported on the hand he’d used to strike Naruto. Naruto frowned, wondering where it had come from. He glanced down at his body to see that he was cloaked in a deep, crimson red, pure chakra, though it felt foreign. Not his own.

The Kyuubi.

“Fuck,” Naruto cried as he squeezed his eyes shut tight, trying to block out the screams and get himself under control. He had thought he was passed this. Dad worked with him every day to make sure this was no longer an issue. He had to find his mind, figure out how to breathe. He clenched his jaw and tried to still his thrashing. It wasn’t working. 

He opened his eyes again, dropping them to Kakashi’s arms still wrapped tightly around him, the skin of his forearms flayed out of existence. “ _No_ ,” he groaned, shaking his head at the sight and tried again to force himself to breathe. In. Out.

“You’re okay, Naruto,” Kakashi murmured in his ear. “So am I. It doesn’t hurt, I swear. You’re okay.”

“ _Kakashi_.”

“I’ve got you.”

Naruto growled fighting against every impulse inside of him to force his body still. He could do nothing but pray. And try to breath. In. Out. And repeat. Just like dad showed him. Breathe. He just needed to breathe.

“There you go, Naruto,” Kakashi whispered. “You’ve got this,” he encouraged. “Almost there. You’re okay.”

“What’s happening, Kakashi?” Naruto whined, feeling lost and terrified, of himself and his surroundings both.

The screaming stopped, abruptly and with it, so did Naruto’s panic. The halls went eerily quiet. And then there were footsteps. 

One by one Gaara, Hinata, and Neji exited the inner room, each of them surrounded by groups of small children, none of them older than seven or eight, all of them in various states of undress, covered in bruises and filth. Hinata reached them first and Naruto saw her lips move as she said something to the children before excusing herself into one of the rooms that lined that corridor.

No one missed the sound of her emptying her stomach. It seemed not all the rooms were as soundproof as this prison where the children were kept. Neji followed after her. 

Gaara was the last to approach and he cocked his head at Naruto and Kakashi, his sand swirling at the sight of them. “I can hold him,” he informed Kakashi. “It’s usually me.”

Kakashi shook his head. “I’ve got him. He’s fine.”

Gaara lifted his brows, clearly not believing the man, but Kakashi wouldn’t budge.

“Is he okay?” one of the smallest children asked, looking up at Naruto with wide, fearful eyes, full of tears. “Are you alright mister?”

Naruto clenched his eyes shut once more, trying like hell to reel in the darkness that was seeping out of him, easier to do now without the sound of screaming. He could hear the sound of Itachi’s blade off in the distance and oddly, it did wonders to settle him. He focused on it, ears straining and heard the gargling of a man breathing his last breath and suddenly, Naruto found the ability to take in a steady breath.

“No. No, wait!” Someone shouted from in the room. “You don’t understand. Don’t you know who I am? I can…wait, _no!_ ”

There was the sound of footsteps running toward the door. Naruto’s mind had come back enough for him to note the tension in his remaining comrades as someone approached. A large, burly man, with a hairy gut that stuck out of the bottom of his shirt almost made it through the door. Almost. 

A blade appeared at the center of his chest and disappeared just as rapidly, the man crumpling to the floor to reveal Itachi behind him, wiping his tanto clean on his pant leg. He gazed down at the man with zero sympathy, only looking his way to avoid stepping on him as he exited the room.

For the first time in his memory, the death of a human being actually brought Naruto some semblance of peace. He exhaled, sagging against his brother, exhaustion hitting him all at once.

“It’s done,” Itachi announced and then frowned as he took in the scene before him. His eyes widened. “ _Kakashi_ ,” he breathed, moving quickly as he approached. 

“I’m fine,” Kakashi claimed quickly, raising his damaged arms as he finally released Naruto. “Naruto is fine too, now.”

Naruto wasn’t sure that he was. He couldn’t even look at his brother at the moment. Couldn’t stand the sight of his wounds, deep enough to reveal the musculature of his arms. 

_I did that_ , Naruto thought, feeling sick. This was why everyone was afraid of him. This was why he’d been excluded from any missions that might be something of a challenge. Of course they’d exclude him. He’d hurt his own brother. He wasn’t trustworthy.

“ _Naruto_.” 

Naruto opened his eyes to find it was Sasuke that called to him. But that couldn’t be right. Sasuke never spoke to him anymore. Not for any reason. Naruto wondered if he’d already passed out.

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Sasuke snapped like the very idea of such a thing offended him personally. 

“I hurt Kakashi,” Naruto replied, figuring it wouldn’t hurt anything to see the scene through if it _was_ a dream. It couldn’t be real.

“The Kyuubi hurt Kakashi,” Sasuke corrected, firm. “As if you even _could_ on your best day.”

Somehow, Naruto found it in him to let out a laugh, albeit a hysterical one. “But I -,”

“ _No_ ,” Sasuke shut him down without hearing him out. “Suck it up and pull it together,” he sneered without an ounce of kindness. Naruto found it strangely comforting. “We need to clear this complex and get them to safety.”

At the mention of the children, Naruto straightened, but he didn’t look down at them. Couldn’t. He held Sasuke’s gaze instead. It had been a long time since he’d been able to.

He breathed in deep, trying to find his footing, never looking away from his old friend. Sasuke didn’t look away either.

Naruto cleared his throat and found the act of doing so painful. “Alright,” he whispered, clenching his fists. “Alright,” he repeated again, mostly to himself. “What’s next?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_7 years ago…_

_Naruto woke up in the infirmary at Senju house without any memory of the events that had put him there. He recognized the room, had bothered Baachan enough at work to be familiar with his surroundings. Baachan was nowhere to be seen though._

_His legs were numb and for a moment Naruto panicked, wondering if he’d lost them but a quick glance down revealed his elder brother, passed out across his knees, fast asleep, the weight of him cutting of Naruto’s circulation._

_“What happened,” Naruto wondered aloud, staring down at Kakashi’s face. Even in his sleep he looked worried, disturbed._

_“You turned into a freak of nature,” said a voice to his right, and Naruto glanced over to see that he wasn’t as alone as he’d thought._

_“What?” he asked Sasuke, frowning at his friend. “A freak?”_

_Sasuke nodded with a wide grin, missing a single tooth right at the front of his smile. “Yeah. It was awesome.”_

_“Why am I here?” Naruto asked, mind still foggy. “How long have I been here?”_

_“Forever, dobe,” Sasuke replied with a shrug. “Thought you weren’t ever gonna wake up. But you did.”_

_“I turned into a freak?” Naruto asked again, not quite sure what his friend meant by that. “What did I do?”_

_“You destroyed the entire hot springs,” Sasuke said, full of delight. “Sandaime-sama was _sooo_ mad. You shoulda seen him!”_

_Naruto’s eyes widened and he tried to sit up, flinching as pain shot throughout his body. He’d always been a quick healer and Sasuke had already said he’d been sleep forever. He must have been injured pretty badly if he was still hurting. Naruto gave up on sitting up, sighing as he glared up at the ceiling._

_“Stop laughing, bastard,” Naruto scolded his friend. “Everyone will be afraid of me again.”_

_“They’re idiots,” Sasuke sneered, face scrunching. “If they paid any attention at all, they’d remember you’re a useless dobe that still can’t even achieve a decent Transformation.”_

_“Hey!” Naruto protested, ignoring his pain to sit up and glare at the dark haired boy sitting next to his bed. “I’m getting better! You said so yourself.”_

_“Well, yeah,” Sasuke grumbled, shrugging. “I was trying to be_ nice _to you, idiot.”_

_Naruto snorted. “You never try to be nice to anyone,” he pointed out._

_Sasuke shrugged again, declining to comment further._

_“…Hey Sasuke?”_

_“Hn?”_

_“How long have you been here with Kakashi and me?” he asked, wondering at how Sasuke was never afraid after Naruto’s outbursts. He was always there when Naruto came to afterwards, a constant presence at Naruto’s side, even if the rest of their clan would spend the next few weeks avoiding the young boy._

_“The WHOLE time,” Sasuke stated, proud. “Tsunade-sama,” he spat the word out like it tasted bad. “She tried to throw me out, but Kakashi niisan wouldn’t let her.”_

_“Yeah?” Naruto said, smiling down at where his older brother napped._

_“I didn’t need his help,” Sasuke informed him with great offense. “I’ve been working on my shuriken jutsu with Itachi.” He frowned. “And if that didn’t work, I was going to bite her. But only if it didn’t work. Itachi says I’m too old for biting now.”_

_“You still bite me,” Naruto pointed out, glaring at his friend, because it was true and the bites were an irritating pain he could do without. Neither of them could wait to learn some actual ninjutsu to use against one another, but Sasuke compensated for the lack of any useful techniques in the worst ways._

_“Because you’re a moron,” Sasuke shot back, deadpan. “You deserve it. Dobe.”_

_Naruto growled, but given his current state, he doubted the sound carried much weight._

_The two boys lapsed into an easy silence, neither of them pressed to make conversation simply because they shared the same space. Naruto could only handle inaction for so long while he was conscious though, so it wasn’t long before he began pick at his bandages to fling the material at Sasuke._

_“Hey,” Sasuke snapped, hopping to his feet. “If you think I won’t sock you just cause you’re injured…”_

_Naruto threw a bright smile over at his friend. “No, I know you would. Bastard.”_

_“Hn,” Sasuke huffed, unapologetic._

_“Hey Sasuke?”_

_“What now, idiot?”_

_“…you’re never scared of me, right?” Naruto asked, the words coming out slow, hesitant._

_Sasuke snorted, without missing a beat. “As if I’d be afraid of you,” he said, frowning at the thought. “You’re useless.” He threw his arms in the air as he dropped back into his seat next to Naruto’s bed. “Also, I’m not afraid of anything.”_

_Naruto grinned happily, the tension in his chest easing, worry about what he’d face from the rest of his peers in the weeks to come drifting away. “Me neither,” he declared. “Hey Sasuke?”_

_Sasuke let out a heavy, put upon sigh. “Do you ever shut up? What?”_

_“Wanna sneak out of here and see if we can convince Ichiraku-san to give us some ramen?” Naruto suggested, giddy at the thought._

_“Try it and I’ll break both of your legs, Naru-chan,” Kakashi chimed in from where he ‘slept’ without opening his eyes. “You’re staying in bed. Don’t test me, brat.”_

_“Kakashi-nii,” Naruto chirped in excitement, jostling his legs around to get his brother’s attention, paying little heed to the reprimand. Kakashi would break his own legs before he ever did any such thing to Naruto and all of Konohagakure knew it. “You’re awake! Up! Get up. Sasuke and me are hungry.”_

_“You’re always hungry,” Sasuke pointed out, unhelpfully._

_Kakashi peeked open his one uncovered eye as he let out a sigh and pushed himself up off of Naruto’s legs._

_“Fine,” the man conceded with feigned reluctance. “I’ll bring you some of Ichiraku’s famous ramen.” He squinted at Naruto. “If you swear not to move from this bed,” he added pointing a threatening finger in Naruto’s direction._

_Naruto raised both hands in surrender. “I swear, Niichan” he shouted, eyes wide and innocent and he was being honest too. He’d wait until after he got his ramen to further plot his escape._

_Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the young blond, as if he could read his mind. Sometimes, Naruto was certain he could. Kakashi shook his head, letting out an exasperated huff. He grumbled something to himself as he exited the room and Naruto immediately turned his attention back to Sasuke._

_“Forget it,” Sasuke said, before Naruto could open his mouth. “Kakashi niisan doesn’t even leave at night when Itachi makes me go home. He stays with you the whole time. We won’t be able to sneak out. Unless we go now.”_

_Naruto’s frown was mostly for show. He felt warmth bloom in his chest and was never more grateful for his brother, glad to have him, even if had no one else._

_But. He did have at least one other person._

_“What are you smiling at, Dobe?” Sasuke sneered, snagging one of the disposable gloves from the box on the bedside stand next to him to slap Naruto around the face with it._

_“We’ll always be best friends, right Sasuke?” he chirped, happily certain of the answer even without having heard Sasuke’s response._

_“Tch,” Sasuke replied. “You always ask stupid questions. Idiot.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive the treatment of Sakura. I think it will get better...but I make no firm promises. We'll see where it goes.
> 
> Please do comment and let me know what you think. Any input is welcomed and appreciated. 
> 
> Until next time! XD


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is still completely UNBETAED and raw. I’m a horrible, irresponsible writer. Begging forgiveness.
> 
> Also? Nothing happens in this chapter. 
> 
> My initial terrible summary for this was something like ‘Some stuff happens, and other stuff happens, and some people die and there’s some super cool, over the top jutsu’s for the sake of more bad ass things happening and also, sex at some point.’ I had to take that summary back because of chapters like this one, where nothing happens at all for over ten thousand words. Does it make it better if I warn you first? Probably not.

Itachi sat in his place on his knees in front of the council. These debriefings were always better when Kakashi or Kimimaro were there. The two of them had a knack for keeping things from getting too tense. Itachi had never been great at diffusing tension. He thrived on it, knew how to manipulate it, but diffusing it entirely was another matter. 

“Fourteen children?” Sandaime-sama asked, crestfallen and horrified. “Fourteen innocent children?”

Itachi nodded at the repeated information but didn’t comment further. He was no more than a child himself when he’d first been sent into the bloody fray and the terrors of the war they left behind. He wasn’t bitter about his circumstance. Being a shinobi of Konoha was one of his greatest joys, but there was something hypocritical about the horror the men before him were displaying. It was disgusting, what they’d found happening to the children in that compound, yes. Itachi just wasn’t sure if some of the things the council before him did on a regular basis was any better.

“Tell us about the incident with the Kyuubi host.”

Danzo. Itachi was never a fan of his, even before he had a full understanding of what the old man was about. He’d become acquainted with real evil at far too young an age not to recognize it when it was staring him in the face. Danzo liked to dress up his malice in good intentions, all for the sake of Konoha, but Itachi couldn’t help but feel like his endless justifications didn’t come close to accounting for his actions. 

Danzo wasn’t of the belief that a person could sink ‘too low’. There was no such thing, as far as he was concerned. No matter how ugly or pitiless or nasty his actions, he found a way to believe that the end justified the means of getting there. Privately, Itachi thought that sort of thinking was what had brought them all to the brink of extinction in the first place. Men like Danzo and all of their ‘good intentions’. 

Danzo could pretend it was all for the sake of Konoha, but Itachi knew better. The man was nothing more than a villain, thirsty for power and eminence. Terrified of fading into oblivion. Itachi truly didn’t understand how the rest of the council – men and women he truly respected and understood, even if he didn’t always agree with them – ever bought into Danzo’s feeble excuses. They didn’t even make sense.

What was the point of sinking lower and lower, sacrificing all morality and virtue for the simple sake of survival? Was it even worth surviving if they had to lose everything that was even remotely human inside of them to do it? Evil, Itachi had learned, would exist no matter what they did. Did it really make anything better to sink down and match the malevolence? 

They were questions Itachi had been contemplating since he was all of eight years old. He would find a way to counter the madness, to become a force that opposed all things evil and wrong, even if all he ever managed was to balance the scales. He would find a better way and if he spent his entire life searching for one, it wouldn’t be a wasted life.

With the Foundation gone, along with any hope Danzo had of taking on any of the remaining Uchiha for their power, it seemed the man had shifted his focus to Naruto and Gaara. Itachi hadn’t sat in on a single meeting where Danzo hadn’t tried to single one his pupils out, occasionally even going so far as to suggest Naruto be put under his direct control and supervision while him and Orochimaru sought out ways to ‘better control the Kyuubi’. 

He would reduce Naruto to little more than an experiment if allowed. He was relentless in the undertaking.

Itachi was well trained. His cool mask of indifference didn’t slip as he met Danzo’s probing gaze head on.

“The incident with Naruto was minor,” Itachi replied, keeping his thoughts to himself. Jumping on the defensive would only serve to give Danzo the opening he was looking for. “Kakashi handled it with little effort.”

“Little effort,” Danzo scoffed. “He’s in the infirmary, is he not?”

Itachi arched a bored eyebrow. “We’re shinobi,” he replied, deadpan. “Kakashi’s arms will heal. He’s seen worse wounds on more difficult missions. It was a small thing. Naruto regained control after only a few minutes.”

“He was placed on your team for a reason,” Shodaime-sama commented, thoughtfully and without spite. “With your Mangekyou Sharingan, we’d hoped to minimize incidents like this one with the Kyuubi.”

“As I said,” Itachi responded, keeping his head up, eyes visible. Nothing to hide. “It was a minor incident. I thought it better not to allow Naruto or Kakashi into the room where they were keeping the children. I handled the matter myself.”

“You are shinobi,” Danzo parroted with a smirk. “Kakashi, at least, should have been able to handle it without shying away from the familiarity of the circumstance. Even if the Kyuubi host could not.”

Itachi didn’t roll his eyes or clench neither his jaw nor his fists. He cocked his head to the side as if to concede the point. “He wanted to,” Itachi confessed. “I preferred handling it myself.”

Danzo let out a dark, snide chuckle, eyes lit with smug satisfaction. “You meant to protect your _friend_ from memories of his past,” he sneered. “It shouldn’t have been an issue nor question. A shinobi should not be so ruled by his emotions.”

Itachi shrugged and kept buried every response he wanted to give to that statement. With forced neutrality, he answered. “Yes, I thought it best not to bring up old memories,” he agreed. “You’re right Danzo-dono. I let my emotions get the better of me. I will accept any punishment you think necessary.” He bowed his head as was expected of him.

He could feel Danzo seething. He’d meant to attack Naruto with that comment or perhaps Kakashi. No one would ever accuse Itachi of being ruled by his emotions, not even as he copped to having done just that. 

“I don’t think punishment is necessary,” Nidaime-sama said with a frown, managing to shock Itachi. Usually he and Danzo were of like mind, though Itachi sensed nothing evil or sick about any of the reanimations that lived among them as he did with Danzo. The man practically seeped spite from his pores.

“Kakashi should have been the one to take point on the inner room,” Danzo insisted, glaring at his fellow council members. “Itachi should have stuck with the Kyuubi.”

“His name is Naruto,” Yondaime-sama cut in, having had enough. “And Itachi has already taken responsibility for the error in judgment, though I confess, as a father, I’m grateful for his intervention.” 

The Fourth and most recent Hokage generally kept silent on the topic of Naruto’s outbursts and even more so when the topic of Naruto’s kidnapping and Kakashi’s subsequent rescue came into play. Itachi suspected it was likely guilt that held his tongue, or perhaps wisdom. Engaging Danzo would only serve Danzo’s purpose and any defense of Naruto wouldn’t be given much weight given that he was the boy’s father.

“We all know his name, _Hokage-sama_ ,” Danzo shot back, unperturbed and spitting out the title with distain as if to call to attention how little weight it now carried. “How long are we going to ignore the risks we take in allowing that boy to take on missions? We shouldn’t allow him to leave clan grounds at all!” He slammed his hand down against the table in front of them. “This is one of the main reasons we fled our home, and sacrificed our freedom to come to this place. The Kyuubi should be kept here, under tight supervision and-,”

“You wish to lock him up the way those children we rescued were?” Itachi cut in, schooling his features to display curiosity and not judgment or concern. It was still disrespectful in every way, and Itachi would likely face repercussions for his interruption and implication, but he’d had enough. Itachi had no interest in becoming a rogue shinobi but that was where his path would take him if he let his former boss force Kakashi’s hand in this matter. Kakashi would raise hell, take Naruto, and leave. 

And Itachi would follow. His loyalty to Kakashi was well earned and ran deeper than his loyalty to anyone or anything else other than Sasuke.

“You _dare_ ,” Danzo started, eyes narrowed at Itachi.

“He’s right,” Nidaime-sama said, raising his voice over Danzo’s. “I understand your thinking, Danzo-san, and I thought it wise to retain your voice on this council but we can’t allow a witch hunt. You’re opinions have been heard and that is what it’s starting to sound like. You are the one being ruled by your emotions just now, and it seems fear is what’s driving you. From what Itachi and the others have said, it sounds to me like Naruto has come a long way in managing the power he carries within him. We should be encouraged. I seem to recall an incident in the bathhouse not some time ago that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.”

Shodaime-sama let out a gleeful chuckle at the reminder as Sandaime-sama immediately began a knee jerk rant under his breath. Minato blushed and ducked his head.

“Nidaime-sama,” Danzo gasped with wide eyes, devastation at having lost his only ally apparent. Itachi wanted to laugh right along with the Shodaime Hokage. He didn’t.

“I agree with Tobi, actually,” Shodaime-sama chimed in, grinning fondly at the aforementioned stern man, a note of brotherly pride sparking in his eyes that Itachi was all too familiar with. “Naruto could prove to be a powerful asset to Konohagakure whenever we are ready to make a move to take back our home, but that will never happen if we don’t allow him the space and experiences he needs to grow into himself. Uzumaki Naruto will remain as he is, on Team Itachi, with full mission participation.”

“ _Full participation_?!” Danzo repeated in a shocked whisper, full of disbelief and even more displeasure at the announcement. 

Itachi had to wonder, too, if the Shodaime meant what it sounded like. While Naruto had been allowed to participate, his status as a ‘full fledged’ shinobi was in name only thus far. He’d been excluded from a great deal of tasks and missions, deemed too high a risk for exposure. Keeping the Kyuubi’s location secret was paramount. 

“Full participation,” Nidaime-sama nodded his agreement, clasping his hands together. “It’s time. The boy has proven he is progressing. I think at this point, our efforts are only serving to hold him back. Gaara no Sabaku as well.”

“I agree,” Minato-sama said in an awed whisper. 

“Hm,” Sandaime-sama put in. “We’ll cripple them if we deprive them of experience now. And we’ll cut our own legs off. What good is a weapon that hasn’t been sharpened for battle?”

“My boy is more than a weapon, sensei,” Minato-sama said, frowning.

“Yes, yes,” Sandaime-sama replied with a wave of his hand. “I meant no harm, Minato. The fact remains, we can’t throw him into a battle without proper preparation. We’ll deal with whatever complications may arise. We’re not helpless and we were never meant to remain in hiding forever.”

Minato didn’t comment further, merely nodding his acquiescence. Itachi agreed it was better not to press their luck when they were making progress. 

“It’s settled, then,” Shodaime-sama said, clapping his hands. “We’ll move on. The mission last night was a success. Itachi, Kakashi, and Asuma’s teams were able to retrieve the scroll of seals and seize assets that will help us flourish in this land until we’re prepared to make our move to take back our home. In the process, these young shinobi saved the lives of fourteen innocents. Have I missed anything, Danzo?”

Danzo said nothing, simply sat there gaping at the First Fire Shadow.

“Well then,” Shodaime-sama said with a kind smile directed at Itachi. “All of you will be commended for your accomplishments last night. Dismissed, Itachi-san.”

Itachi stood and bowed low before making his exit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke waited for his brother outside of the council chambers. They were located in a simple construct consisting of only a single open room in the only building on the grounds their clan had claimed for their own that hadn’t been there before the shinobi of Konoha arrived. The only one they built themselves. Everything else had been there before they arrived.

On the seven acres of land they had claim to, were four large houses, reasonably spread out with the odd greenhouse or storage shed here and there. They were surrounded on all sides with a high but flimsy wall put up more for privacy than security. It was nothing that could be called a village, nothing like where they’d come from. There was more empty space on the land than anything else, but it served their purposes. A shinobi’s training needed a lot of space.

The main houses they lived in made up the four corners of a square, and at the center of it all was the structure they used for council meetings and for storing their most precious memoirs from home. The shinobi of Konohagakure built it with their bare hands and no chakra to aid the task. It was a simple structure, just four walls made of precious wood and an uncomplicated, slanting roof, but it was beautiful in its simplicity. There was also a memorial of sorts that they’d created with similar reverence, situated in the sprawling field out front of the construction, all of it crafted carefully in memory of their home and everyone they’d lost. 

The centerpiece of the memorial was a large stone leaf covered in more names than there was time to read in a day. There were two Sakura trees, one on each side of the leaf, to honor the accomplishments and brave hearts of the fallen. Its base was surrounded by the vibrant orange of the Kinmokusei that bloomed every fall. The rest of the yard was covered in the cool purple of Rabenda. 

It was there that Sasuke waited. It wasn’t uncommon for him – or any of the clan – to visit and linger at the memorial Leaf, so Sasuke didn’t bother trying to conceal his presence. His brother’s sharp eyes would likely be able to spy him out even if he did. 

He reached out for the spot on the stone leaf that was most well-known to him, tracing familiar characters with reverence. Uchiha Mikoto. Sasuke didn’t even have memories of her. He couldn’t remember her voice or her face, though he sometimes imagined he could remember her laugh or the warmth of her embrace. It was a silly thing and not at all possible, more a memory of dreams he’d had than of reality. She had died when he was far too young.

He had no knowledge of her favorite foods or favorite flowers, though his brother often mentioned she’d loved spending time in the gardens. He’d heard stories of her bravery but had no recollection of it. He couldn’t remember her scent though he convinced himself it was probably similar to the aroma that enveloped him currently, surrounded by Rabenda and Sakura.

“You look like her, you know,” Itachi said, managing to catch Sasuke unawares even though he’d made sure to keep a passing watch on the door to the council chambers.

“I wouldn’t know, actually,” Sasuke replied, not without a hint of bitterness. Fugaku kept all of Mikoto’s pictures locked away and as a result, Sasuke didn’t know the face of his own mother. He didn’t know whether he should be angrier at his father or himself. “If I look like her, then you must too,” he added, looking up at his brother speculatively. 

“I look more like father,” Itachi argued, shaking his head.

“We look exactly the same,” Sasuke shot back, deadpan.

Itachi smiled soft, lids lowering as he looked to the ground. “Not quite, otouto.” His grin turned _evil_ and he raised eyes that looked to belong to the devil himself to meet Sasuke’s. “You’re much _prettier_ , Sasuke, with finer features, softer hands, and paler skin.” At his utterance of the last word, he pressed to fingers to the center of Sasuke’s head and shoved.

Sasuke batted his hand away and launched himself at his brother to tackle him. Itachi spun out of the way, dodging him with no effort at all before catching him by the shoulder to keep Sasuke from diving head first into the ground. He shifted his grip to bring Sasuke into a headlock.

“Too obvious, little brother,” he said chuckling. “Is that what Kakashi’s been teaching you? To broadcast your intentions like that? Tsk. That won’t do.”

Sasuke growled, fighting against Itachi’s hold. “I am _not_ ‘pretty’, Itach,” he grumbled, sweeping out at Itachi’s feet with a swift kick. Itachi saw it coming, but he still had to let Sasuke go to avoid it so Sasuke decided the victory was his.

His satisfaction was somewhat dimmed by the fact that Itachi didn’t seem to realize he’d lost, chuckling happily, dark eyes somehow sparkling with good cheer, his long black hair whipping at his flushed cheeks with the wind picking up.

“I take it everything went well, then?” Sasuke asked, straightening his clothes. The day had only just begun and father would die of shame to see one of his sons walking around looking like a common vagrant for no reason at all.

“What went well?” Itachi shot back with amusement. 

Sasuke glared causing Itachi to chuckle with delight again. “Fine, fine,” Itachi conceded, ruffling Sasuke’s hair because he was _annoying_ that way. “Yes, I’d say it went well. We’ll all be commended for our mission success; I think is what they said.”

Sasuke waited but Itachi was apparently done telling that story. Sasuke nudged him with his elbow. “That’s it?”

“Mm.”

“You were in there for quite some time,” Sasuke pressed, getting annoyed. 

“Hn,” Itachi replied. “A few other things may have come up.” He shrugged, turning his back on Sasuke to begin walking away, nothing else to add. Sasuke briefly contemplated casting his honor to the wind and attacking his brother from behind with a well placed fireball. Asshole.

Sasuke jogged to catch up, kicking his brother in the ankle when he did. “You’re really not going to tell me?” he asked, skeptically. “I know you’re on your way to tell Kakashi sensei.”

“Are you really not going to _ask_ me?” Itachi shot back, arching a single brow. “What is it you want to know, otouto? We discussed many things but you were present on the mission itself. Shall I recap the events of last night for you? What could I tell you that you don’t already know?”

Sasuke didn’t bother holding back the growl building in his chest. His brother knew _exactly_ what Sasuke wanted to know. Itachi _always_ knew. He just made a hobby out of fucking with Sasuke. He gritted his teeth and tried for a moment to wait Itachi out, but Itachi only smiled and Sasuke knew he was fighting a losing battle. No one ever got the best of Itachi.

“Just tell me,” the younger man implored, defeated. “What’d they say about Naruto?”

Itachi threw an arm over his shoulders. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“On most days, I really hate you.”

Itachi laughed, loud and bright. “You’re such a foul _liar_ , Sasuke.”

“Are you going to tell me?” Sasuke repeated with impatience.

Itachi let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re no fun, but fine. It went well, as I said,” he replied, giving Sasuke’s shoulders a brief squeeze before letting him go. “Kakashi’s going to get a kick out of the way Danzo was thoroughly shut down by his very own hero in his efforts to either lock Naruto up or do away with him entirely. Team Itachi will finally be able to take on A ranked missions. Naruto will be pleased. Would you like to tell him?”

Sasuke scowled and didn’t bother dignifying that with further response. Itachi knew better.

“Are you going to tell him I asked?” he said instead, slightly worried. It had been awhile since Naruto accosted him for an explanation as to why Sasuke dissolved their friendship. It would seem that Naruto had given up, and while thinking about that sent a pain Sasuke would rather not acknowledge lancing through his chest, it was still for the best. It was better than having to shut the idiot down over and over.

Itachi frowned at the inquiry, leveling Sasuke with a look that communicated clear disappointment. “Have I ever?”

Sasuke sighed, shaking his head. He bumped his brother’s shoulder with his own to show his gratitude, directing a smile at the ground. “No, Oniisan. You haven’t.”

Itachi let out a long breath, but his smile was fond and soft. He halted his steps, turning to face him. “Are you ever going to tell me why?”

‘Are you ever going to _ask_ ’, Sasuke wanted to snap back, throwing his brother’s words back at him, but he thought better of it. He’d always been grateful that Itachi never pried into the matter before. He hoped like hell Itachi never would. Sasuke hated lying to his brother. Itachi saw through him every time anyway.

Knowing that was the case, Sasuke didn’t bother trying to soften the answer to the question. “I don’t know,” he said simply. He hadn’t ever given the idea of telling _anyone_ much consideration. He wasn’t even sure he could.

For whatever reason, Itachi seemed pleased with the non-response, smile widening. “But you know that you can?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the ridiculous question. “Obviously.” As much of a pain in the ass he found his brother to be, Sasuke knew Itachi was the one person in the world he never had to question. He could always be _certain_ of him, of his devotion and loyalty. 

Itachi cleared his throat, resuming his steps down the dirt path to Senju House to visit Kakashi sensei in the infirmary. “What are you doing stalking me anyway?” Itachi shifted topics with an easy grace that Sasuke would always envy. “Don’t you have class this morning?”

Sasuke groaned, kicking at a small rock he came upon. “It doesn’t make any sense that we have to keep going to that place. You didn’t. Neither did Kakashi sensei. A part of me feels like we’re only forced to so that no one has to deal with us for half a day.”

Itachi let out a gleeful cackle, always pleased when Sasuke _wasn’t_. “We have to keep up appearances in this place,” he replied with a shrug. “Are you finding the work troublesome? Is that why you’re stalling?”

Sasuke glared. “No.” He was almost offended at the suggestion. “I’m _not_ stalling. It’s still early. I always meant to stop by and visit sensei before I left.”

Itachi snorted. “You mean you meant to seize an opportunity to discreetly check on Naruto under the guise of being a sweet, doting pupil?” He shook his head. “No one will ever buy it.”

“Shut up.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “I’m not doting,” he sneered, but he was being honest. “We all saw his arms, Itachi. Neji had to leave early but he gave me some ointment for Kakashi.” 

And if he happened to see Naruto by Kakashi’s bedside and not off sulking somewhere avoiding the man out of guilt, well, he would spare Naruto his vitriol just the once and ignore him entirely. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto sat in his math class balancing a pencil on the bridge of his nose as he watched the seconds tick by on the clock that hung over the large green chalk board at the front of it. Fifteen more seconds and he’d break his record. Three hundred and twenty five more seconds and it would finally be time for lunch.

He figured knowing that was enough arithmetic for the day and tuned his teacher out entirely with practiced efficiency.

He was doing a five second countdown to beating his pencil balancing record when a crumpled piece of paper sailed toward his face. He was a trained ninja so flying paper was no match for his reflexes, but moving so abruptly made him drop his pencil. He narrowed his eyes as he scanned the seats to his left, suspiciously searching for the paper throwing culprit.

His eyes came to a rest on Rock Lee grinning at him, dark eyes lit with mischief under his bushy, unkempt brows. He nodded at the crumpled slip of paper Naruto held in his hands. Naruto looked down at it and opened it up.

 _Ha!_ Lee wrote in large letters across the page. _I will not let you beat the pencil balancing record before me! Interference is FAIR PLAY. Better luck next time!_

Naruto laughed despite himself, shooting his friend an amused grin. Friend. Naruto was glad to have him. For awhile there after Sasuke decided to abandon him, he wasn’t sure he’d find one again. But while people at the school they all attended still avoided Naruto like the plague, seeming to have a sixth sense for the danger that lived inside of him, some of his fellow nin had finally stopped turning their backs whenever he walked by.

Rock Lee had been first. Then Temari and Kankuro had shown up with Gaara in tow and Naruto had another friend. With their arrival came the added benefit that Gaara terrified everyone more than Naruto ever had and so other friends had followed. For the longest time, he’d only had Kakashi and Sasuke. Itachi too but back then, he’d just been Kakashi’s best friend and not Naruto’s own beloved teacher. 

But now he had more friends than he ever thought he would and he was grateful. It was nice. The lot of them together didn’t put a dent in the hole that was left by his very first friend, but Naruto would still give his life for any one of them. 

There wasn’t enough time left on the clock to try beating his record again so Naruto folded the piece of paper that Rock had thrown at him into a small triangle and set up for his other favorite math class activity – trying to hit his teacher in the back with small projectiles whenever he turned to face the chalkboard. 

School was boring, but Naruto didn’t mind going. He was happy to finally be included. For awhile, the council had thought it too risky to send him with the rest of his peers. 

He had more ‘classes’ at home to attend as soon as he was done with school for the day and Naruto enjoyed those quite a bit more. He’d be training with a very real katana later and while it wasn’t even close to Naruto’s favorite weapon in actual use, he thoroughly enjoyed how bad ass he looked wielding it. But he didn’t mind having to attend ‘regular’ school as much as some of his friends seemed to.

The bell rang, interrupting Tanaka-san’s math ravings and he raised his voice shouting assignments at a class that was already tuning him out, fleeing as quickly as they could.

“Let us race to the cafeteria,” Rock suggested the second they were out of the classroom, already bouncing and stretching to prepare.

Naruto laughed but shook his head. “I got dragged to the headmaster’s office _by my ear_ the last time we did that,” he said, wincing at the memory.

Rock’s brows furrowed as he pouted. “I have also been informed I’m on my ‘last warning’,” he said, shoulders sagging.

Naruto feigned disappointment to match him as they set off for lunch, walking and not running, or leaping over people and bouncing off walls. Truth was, Naruto was relieved to be done with the races. No one ever beat Rock Lee in a foot race. It was getting embarrassing to try. Rock was a difficult person to say no to, though.

“I said ‘back up’, you fucking _freak_!” They heard the sound of someone shouting a short distance ahead of them, followed immediately by the slam of a body against the lockers. 

Naruto shared a brief, knowing look with Rock and the two of them set off at a run anyway, last warnings be damned. 

They made it to the scene just in time to see Gaara wrapping his right hand into a fist and the two of them grabbed and pinned him to the locker. 

“Gaara,” Naruto drew out his name slow and cautious, hoping like hell it wasn’t too late and that the young red head could still hear him. “Don’t.”

The boy that had shoved Gaara misinterpreted who Naruto and Rock had shown up to help, assuming they meant to assist _him_ , holding his problem down for him. He moved in with a victorious grin and a raised fist and was swiftly rewarded with a kick to the chest, courtesy of Konoha’s own self proclaimed _handsome devil_. The wind was knocked out of the would be bully and he keeled forward at the waist gasping as he clutched his chest with both hands.

Naruto shook Gaara’s shoulder trying to get him too look at him. “Gaara,” he pleaded again, heart beating a rapid rhythm in his chest. This was against every rule they had. They couldn’t risk Gaara exposing what they were, not here, so close to their home. There would be no place left for them to hide.

Gaara turned to face him, expressionless as ever. “Hello, Naruto,” he greeted evenly, his tone devoid of all emotion. Naruto grinned. That was downright _friendly_ for Gaara.

“Hey,” Naruto chirped back, releasing his grip on his friend now that he knew there was no danger. “I’m hungry and it’s lunch time,” he went on. “Let’s go eat!”

They left Gaara’s attacker behind without a single one of them giving him another glance, happy to have the matter settled so simply.

They arrived in the lunch room to find Hinata already sitting at their usual table. She usually spent lunches with Neji and Sasuke but she made it a point to join her own team on occasion and she smiled as they approached.

“Gaara-kun,” she greeted. “Naruto-kun.”

“Hey!” Rock protested, dismayed at having been left out. “Don’t forget about the Handsome Devil of Leaf!”

“Of course, it’s always good to see you too, Lee,” Hinata said, bowing her head at him, smile not faltering.

Naruto smiled back with genuine affection for the soft spoken girl. She was also somewhat outcast in the halls of their high school. She and Neji both were, as the soft color of their pupil free eyes seemed to freak most civilians out, though Neji never seemed to notice for his part, but then, Neji never seemed to care about much at all outside of his devotion to duty, his comrades, and to Hinata. He was a good guy, but Naruto couldn’t help but think it wouldn’t kill him to prioritize a bit of fun now and then.

“I’m happy to see you’re well, Naruto-kun,” Hinata told him and Naruto noted the hint of worry in her eyes. 

“I am,” he reassured her, glad that she cared. “Kakashi is too,” he added, even more glad of that.

“That’s good to hear,” Hinata replied. “I’m going to visit him as soon as they let us out of here today.”

Naruto grinned wide and bright. “You won’t be able to,” he said happily. “Baachan let him go this morning. He was fine after her and Karin saw to him.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said, returning his smile before turning her attention to Gaara. She pointed her chopsticks at him, narrowing her wide eyes. “You never showed this morning,” she accused him, her tone dropping an octave, eerily low and cold and Naruto was reminded of how dangerous the sweet girl in front of them really was. “You promised.”

Gaara shrugged. “ _You_ told me I promised,” he replied. “I still don’t know what that means.”

“It means,” she clarified, not without patience. “That no matter what, you have to follow through with whatever you said you would do.”

Gaara bit the inside of his cheek, squinting one eye as he thought about it. Naruto wanted to laugh at the expression, but held it in, smiling fondly at his friend instead. Their peers at the high school had often made cracks about Gaara having been raised in a cave. Naruto supposed it wasn’t their fault if they didn’t know there was more truth in the statement than they could understand.

“What happens if you don’t do what you promise?” Gaara asked Hinata with genuine curiosity.

Hinata’s lips twitched with amusement as she tried to bite back her responding smile. “Nothing really. You disappoint your friends, is all.”

Gaara gave a thoughtful frown. “That is…not good,” he decided, looking what passed for bothered for the red head. “I will go to Hyuga house this evening after training,” he offered carefully. “I promise.”

Hinata gifted him with a bright smile. “Thank you, Gaara-kun. I promise to keep Neji away.”

Gaara grunted his acknowledgement as he poked at the lunch his sister prepared for him with a skeptical look. 

“I do not think it would be a good idea for you to eat that, Gaara, my friend,” Rock said observing the meal with a look of horror. “I will share my onigiri with you because I do not want you to die.”

Naruto laughed as he pushed over the lunch he’d brought for his friend, more than familiar with Temari’s questionable cooking at that point and always happy to look out for one of his hard won friends. “No need.”

He brought Gaara’s lunch every day, but the red head still insisted on bringing whatever Temari made him anyway. Naruto was never sure if he did so because he truly didn’t realize that Naruto would continue to bring him food that was edible or because he didn’t have the heart to tell Temari her efforts weren’t necessary. Naruto doubted it was the latter. Gaara wasn’t the greatest at picking up on things like that and it would likely never occur to him to consider Temari might feel anything about something like that at all. 

Gaara simply didn’t think like that. His father had kept him caged like an animal for the majority of his life, letting him out only to use him as a weapon whenever he met confrontation he knew he couldn’t handle on his own. None of them had all of the details and Gaara never spoke of what life was like for him before his brother and sister rescued him and ran away to find the missing nin of Konoha. Temari and Kankuro obviously knew some of it, but it was clear they didn’t like discussing it. 

Naruto shuddered to think of what it must have been like to have no one to talk to _at all_ for your entire life, to have your only interactions be violent, bloody battles to the death. He couldn’t exactly blame his friend for not being the greatest with social interactions. 

Gaara happily started in on the gyudon Naruto had brought for him, sliding his plate of doom forward in exchange. 

“Uh,” Naruto said, staring at a grey piece of meat covered in congealing gravy that looked to actually be moving, ready to come to life and leap off the plate. “Well. No, thanks. I’ve got plenty.”

Gaara shrugged, mouth already full. Naruto’s stomach growled in envy so he popped the lid off the top of his own bowl of gyudon. 

“Itadakimasu,” he chirped, digging in. It was delicious, even cold. Choza-san always worked _magic_ in the kitchen. In addition to Kakashi and the Nara’s, the last two remaining Akimichi were members of Uzumaki house. Naruto wouldn’t have it any other way. It kept him fed, if nothing else. 

They ate in relative silence. Even Naruto, prone to filling every still moment with inane chatter, was always quiet when he ate. The cafeteria was filled with the sound of laughter and conversation, but if one were to look and observe any of the shinobi of Konoha, they’d find each one silently immersed in their food. It was habit more than anything else, borne of long journeys where it was necessary to eat quickly and move on, no time for socializing. 

“Ah.” Rock let out a belch when he was finished, slapping his chopsticks down on the table as if he’d won some sort of victory. “Gochisamateshita,” he said with a sigh of satisfaction.

Naruto grunted in agreement as he scraped the sides of his bowl, forlornly seeking out any stray scraps he may have missed. Perhaps he should bring _three_ helpings of lunch from now on. He never seemed to be full after just one for himself. 

They were in the process of packing up their things when Naruto felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end and he looked up, eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger. At first glance, there was nothing out of order. There was the usual crowd of students socializing, some throwing food and others making rude noises only to crack up in fits of giggles with their friends as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever witnessed. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

Naruto was about to give up, dismiss the feeling as paranoia when his eyes fell upon the young man that had attacked Gaara standing near the entrance of the cafeteria surrounded by a group of other boys, his finger up and pointed directly at the round table that Naruto and his friends occupied.

Naruto tensed. 

It wasn’t that he was afraid of a fight but there were _rules_ that had been drilled into his head for as far back as he remembered. Don’t cause a scene. Don’t attract attention, most especially not close to home, and never, _ever_ , let your status as a shinobi become known to outsiders. It was one of their biggest concerns. Itachi sensei and Yamanaka-san went to great lengths to make certain that those that bore witness to their ninjutsu on missions had their minds thoroughly wiped of the experience afterward. They couldn’t let their location become know, not until they were ready for it.

Naruto cleared his throat to capture the attention of his comrades, body tensed for the coming altercation. “Heads up,” he murmured grimly to his companions. 

Hinata’s head dropped in direct opposition to Naruto’s instruction, likely to hide the instinctive, knee jerk activation of her Byakugan at the mention of potential danger. Rock’s eyes lit and shifted, immediately searching out a potential threat. 

Gaara, still not finished with his meal, continued eating without a care in the world. 

It was always strange, watching the way Rock’s entire demeanor shifted when he meant business. The normally bright, exuberant, and always optimistic young man seemed to completely transform, sitting up straighter, eyes going laser sharp, radiating a dark, dangerous intensity in equal proportion to his usual amounts of abundant cheer. Much like Hinata, he seemed deceptively harmless when he wasn’t training or on a mission. 

While Naruto and Gaara and a great deal of their other peers seemed to give off an air of menacing threat to outsiders, many seemed to think Hinata and Rock were easy targets. It was an assumption that those that encountered them were lucky if they were allowed to live to regret. 

But they all knew the rules. They weren’t preparing for a fight. They’d have to find a way to avoid it. 

Such things went against every instinct Naruto had. He had never been one to run from a fight. His only comfort was that walking away from this one was more a matter of pride than cowardice. No matter how the group of boys might outnumber them, they presented no challenge whatsoever. They were nothing more than a passing inconvenience. 

Gaara would be the real issue. He had a short, unpredictable temper and a pension for violent, unrestrained outbursts, even at the smallest sign of trouble and after he got started, it was near impossible to rein him in. It would fall to Naruto, Hinata, and Rock to diffuse the situation before that could become a problem. 

Naruto exchanged a look of foreboding with Hinata as the group of boys approached. Rock made an almost imperceptible shift toward Gaara, arms moving subtly into position to restrain the red head if necessary. Hinata pulled out a book, pretending to read it and Naruto fiddled with his book bag, trying to appear busy and unaware of the boys’ approach. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps they’d just go away if they weren’t given any attention.

Unlikely.

Plans? Were not exactly Naruto’s forte. He was more of an ‘in the moment’ kind of guy and normally it suited him nicely, but things that worked on the field of battle were be less than useless for what they needed to accomplish here.

He reasoned that Hinata was much better at that and hoped she had something in mind. He’d follow his teammate’s lead. He’d been through enough with the young girl to know she was more than capable.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Sasuke.”

“Hn,” Sasuke replied, not looking up from his homework assignment, determined to get his work done at lunch so he wouldn’t need to bother with it in the later hours of the evening when his time could be better spent training. 

“They’re heading toward Hinata,” Neji said with a hint of tension coloring his tone. Sasuke peered up, eyes immediately going to Naruto’s chosen table. He watched the approach of almost a dozen young men, each one making an effort to appear tough and threatening. It would be laughable if they weren’t approaching Konoha’s merry band of idiot loose canons. Hinata was the only one that could be trusted not to cause a scene they couldn’t afford.

Sasuke sighed. This was precisely why he hated having to deal with all things school related. Stuff like this happened more often than it didn’t. He wondered sometimes if all ninja gave off some sort of aura that drew unsavory attention from less intelligent outsiders. 

Mind quickly assessing the situation, Sasuke stood, joining Neji who was already on his feet. He shot Jugo a look, and he and Suigetsu also stood to join him. Sasuke was familiar with dolts like the ones approaching Naruto. They thought themselves invincible due to the fact that they were greater in number and size because they lacked the necessary brain cells to properly evaluate an opponent. 

Sasuke’s off the cuff strategy was simple. Taking away even one of their presumed advantages would have the group of burly boys backing down, proverbial tails between their legs as they retreated. Even if that _didn’t_ work, such a large crowd of aggressive looking teenagers was surely bound to draw the interest of the lunch monitors. 

Either way, there would be no fight. Such a thing would be beneath them as shinobi.

He grabbed the attention of Shikamaru as he moved across the cafeteria, pinching the shoulder of the boy as he passed. Shikamaru glanced up and let out an annoyed sigh as he got up to join his comrades, Sai, Ino, and Choji following suit. 

Only Neji seemed overly bothered by the situation, tension increasing the pace of his steps on the trek across the cafeteria. Between him and Gaara, Sasuke wasn’t sure which posed the bigger threat of exposing them all. Neji had a tendency to overreact when it came to defending his sister’s honor. 

They arrived just as Hinata, putting on her usual shy, innocent act was asking the apparent leader of the group if there was a problem.

“Mind your own business, bitch,” the young man snarled, viciously, and Sasuke no longer had to wonder which of their group would fly off the handle. Neji moved before he had time to react.

With a speed that would definitely give outsiders cause to wonder about him, Neji darted forward to step in front of the heavily built teenager, his face flat and cold.

“What did you call my sister?” he asked, drawing out and measuring each word, his apparently calm expression belied by the deadly threat in the question, his nasty snarl, and the anger that darkened his eyes.

“Sister?!” the boy – Sasuke thought his name was Koki or something similarly ridiculous – spat, face twisting into a sneer as he turned his vitriol on Neji. “We’ve all see the way you are with her. _Freak_.”

“Er…Koki,” one of the boy’s friends said with slight trepidation as he noted the shinobi gathering and beginning to outnumber them. “This is stupid. We should go.”

As expected. Predictable. Pathetic. 

“I’m not afraid of these bastards,” Koki sneered, face flushed red and his hands twitched at his side. Sasuke noted, with not a small amount of amusement, that the words weren’t an out and out lie. The boy wasn’t smart enough to be suitably intimidated, even though all of his apparent allies had taken a noticeable step back, glancing around the cafeteria for signs of any approaching teachers.

Koki took a single, threatening step forward but Neji didn’t allow him to take another. He reached up to grab the burly teen’s neck with one hand, simultaneously sweeping his feet out from beneath him. Koki fell to his back, grunting as the air was forced out of him, prevented from drawing it back in when Neji followed him to the ground, his knee dropping right in the center of his chest.

Damn it, Sasuke thought, shaking his head. 

It was already clear that Koki’s so called ‘comrades’ would no longer be joining this pointless endeavor. Sasuke took a moment to wonder at whether he should even bother sticking around. Fights were a regular occurrence in the halls of their high school. Nothing out of the norm happening in that regard. Neji just needed to be careful about the skill he showed and they would probably remain safe. He wasn’t entirely sure Neji could be trusted to keep his cool and keep himself in check. Actually, Sasuke was certain he couldn’t be trusted to do so. 

Neji snarled, his teeth bared. “You’ll apologize to my sister,” he informed the young man, hand still clasped around his throat, grip tightening. “Now, would be best. Before I lose my temper.”

If Koki meant to follow Neji’s orders and apologize, he was prevented by the hand around his neck effectively cutting off his air supply.

Sasuke cleared his throat. “Neji,” he warned as he took a reluctant step forward. These altercations never ceased to bore, though from the way the occupants of the cafeteria had stood en masse to observe the fight unfolding before them, Sasuke was the only one that felt that way. 

However, given the fact that most of his fellow shinobi seemed ruthlessly pleased with Neji’s actions Sasuke figured it fell to him to be the voice of reason. Gaara was merely looking on with obvious interest, slowly eating his food as if he were just watching a particularly amusing show, not a care in the world. Rock and Suigetsu were both grinning with distinct satisfaction. Most of the girls looked a bit worried, but apparently didn’t possess the initiative to intervene. 

Sasuke didn’t bother checking in on Naruto’s reaction to the scene.

He sighed, calling out to his friend once more, pushing a touch of urgency and command into his voice. “ _Neji_.”

Neji ignored him. He could have a bit of a one track mind. 

“Niisan,” Hinata spoke up, finally getting to her feet. She approached her brother with no fear and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Neji glanced up at the touch, the hostile lines of his face immediately smoothing out at the sight of her, though he didn’t let up on the boy beneath him at all. “It’s fine,” she told him softly, even offering him a smile. “He hasn’t bothered me.”

Neji returned her smile, ignoring the choking sounds coming from below. If anything his hand tightened more. “He’s bothered _me_ ,” he returned reasonably.

Hinata’s cool eyes turned fond. “ _Niisan_ ,” she said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Our duty…”

She couldn’t say much more than that, not with so many observers, but it was enough. Neji let go as soon as the word was out of her mouth, gracefully pushing himself back to his feet in a single elegant move as Koki choked and gasped on the ground, bits of color returning to his white washed face.

“Gomen.” Neji bowed his head to his sister, mirroring her hand on his shoulder with his on hers for a brief moment before turning to his back to her, shielding her from the crowd entirely. As if Hinata needed it. As if she couldn’t dispatch the whole of the cafeteria with sixty four well placed palms if she felt so inclined. 

“Shit,” one of their harassers muttered, hailing the entire group. “Hebuki-san is coming.”

Too late to be of any use, Sasuke thought. Not that he was surprised. 

The crowd of browbeaters dispersed with more proficiency than Sasuke would have thought possible. At least they were good at something. Even if it _was_ just running away. Koki forced himself to his feet, hurrying after his friends with his head bowed in shame, shoulders still heaving when he coughed. 

Slowly, but surely, the cafeteria resumed it’s usual bustle, the rest of the students turning their attention back to more interesting matters. 

“Sorry about him,” a boy Sasuke had never seen before said, approaching him with a friendly smile. He had hair that was almost as shockingly white as Kakashi sensei’s, crooked glasses, and eyes that didn’t smile with the rest of his face. “Hi, by the way.”

Sasuke didn’t bother to return the greeting. He had no interest in making friends of outsiders. He arched a brow at the newcomer, not offering further response. Sasuke could sense a noteworthy amount of chakra coming from the young man, but that didn’t mean anything. A lot of the civilians they surrounded themselves with had notable chakra reserves. They just had no idea what to do with it. It was wasted on them. As far as Sasuke could tell, the ninja arts were a foreign concept to all of them, something that existed only in fairytales.

“I’m new here,” the boy said, stepping closer still.

Sasuke snorted, irritated at being forced to respond. “I don’t care,” he replied simply, dismissing the friendly interloper. He turned and walked back to his own table without another word, not bothering to check and see if the rest of his friends followed. 

He was almost there when the reason for his swift retreat was calling after him. “Ne, Sasuke! Wait up!”

Sasuke flinched and picked up the pace, groaning inwardly as the steps he heard following began to beat against the ground more quickly as Naruto began to jog.

“I said ‘wait’ just a goddamn minute, bastard,” Naruto snapped when he caught up, grabbing Sasuke’s shoulder and spinning him around to face him. 

Sasuke’s nostrils flared as he leveled Naruto with a glare. “What?” he hissed.

Naruto frowned. “You don’t have to be such an ass all the time, do you? I just wanted to say thanks.” He ducked his head as he reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, a familiar nervous gesture. “For…you know, last night.”

What an idiot, Sasuke thought, spitefully. He could only hope no one was listening in, perfectly aware of how Naruto’s careless words and skittish behavior could be misinterpreted.

Naruto cleared his throat when Sasuke offered no reply. “How is your hand?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He’d already had enough. 

He disliked these confrontations with an intense passion that welled up inside of him and rapidly turned to visceral anger. Not precisely at Naruto, at least, not this time, but at the situation on the whole. He was more than familiar with the routine and the disappointed hurt that would soon take over Naruto’s face. It was more than a little frustrating having to go through it over and over. He wondered if Naruto ever tired of it. Sasuke certainly did. It was all so ridiculous. 

Determined to get it over with quickly, Sasuke schooled his face into a practiced sneer. “I did nothing for _you_ , Naruto. I was doing my _duty_ ,” he said, intentionally coloring his words with a hatred he didn’t really feel. He did his best to ignore the way Naruto recoiled as if he’d been slapped. “And my hand is fine,” he snapped. “You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

Naruto’s face fell and his shoulders sagged with his disenchantment. He let out a humorless little chuckle and didn’t bother looking at Sasuke again, muttering a quick “Bastard,” under his breath as he shook his head and walked away. Good. Sasuke preferred solitude these days.

He _did_. He was used to it now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a bittersweet victory, Minato thought, being able to tell his son that he’d finally be given the same rights and privileges as a shinobi that the rest of his peers enjoyed. He knew Naruto would be pleased to hear it, always eager for opportunities to prove his worth. 

If Minato were being honest with himself, he’d been glad of the council’s previous decision to shelter his son, keep him hidden away as often as possible. The life of a shinobi was brutal to begin with, and Minato had condemned his own son to an even worse fate with his impromptu decision to seal the nine tailed fox within his child. 

It was a choice he hadn’t thought through with consequences he’d never seen coming. He didn’t anticipate the fear and sometimes outright hatred from some of his fellow comrades, men and women he’d fought beside and almost died with in the altercation against Madara so many years ago. 

Minato had been naïve. He’d managed to convince himself they’d look upon his son as some kind of hero, a symbol of hope. Or maybe he was just selfish. Maybe he only told himself such things to let himself off the hook when he was trying to follow Kushina into the grave. Maybe he simply hadn’t _wanted_ to consider it honestly.

If it weren’t for Uchiha Mikota intervening, and the sacrifice she made that Minato still wasn’t sure whether he hated or loved her for, he’d have died that night with his wife and never had to face the consequences of his actions nor bear the guilt of them. 

Mikoto was now just another thing to feel guilty about. It should have been him that died with his wife but it wasn’t. Fugaku would never forgive him. 

He had told himself the Dead Demon Seal was the only way, that his newborn child would never survive taking on the entirety of the Kyuubi’s chakra, but he had no real proof that he was right. . He remembered saying something about not being great with seals, such a laughable thought with the sealing arts practically being a birth right of any Uzumaki worth his salt. He wasn’t quite as good as Kushina, that much was true, but he was better than most. 

There hadn’t been time to think back then. Kushina was already fading. 

The time that had passed since had offered him more space to think it all through than he cared for. For years, Minato had done nothing but go over it, again and again in his mind, spinning tales of all the ways he could have saved his wife and spared his son the life of loneliness and ridicule that he’d condemned him to. There were so many things he wished he could do different.

His yearning for a way to do it over had spurred him to make another grave error. He left the village, abandoning his son to his face his fate alone. It was all for a good cause, of course. He needed to search for a new time-space jutsu that would allow him to go back, or to create a technique that could do so on his own. 

He was well aware even as he left that he was only piling more sins on top of those that he would already never forgive himself for. That Naruto would probably never forgive. Minato had reasoned that it would all be taken care of when he figured out a way to go back. He could fix everything. It would be like it never happened.

He failed. He’d returned home with nothing to show for his efforts. While he’d come up with many techniques in his absence, most notable being the Namikaze no jutsu that had saved them all, he hadn’t managed to find anything that would allow him to get his wife back, to repair the damage he’d done to his own child.

His Namikaze technique was the closest he’d come to actually achieving his goal of coming up with a time-space jutsu that would give him his ‘do over’. He had already mastered the travel through space. He figured it was only a short jump to mastering travel through time. He’d been very wrong, but his experimentation with modifying the Flying Raijinn for travel through time had borne the Namikaze no jutsu. 

It allowed travel through space-time in a different way than his Flying Raijinn. Just not the way he’d needed. It didn’t allow him to move forwards nor backwards. But it had its uses. With it, he’d been able to call down the divine winds of fate to transport, not just him, but all that was left of Konoha to another time space dimension entirely. 

It was a technique with many drawbacks and was dangerous on top of that, but it had gotten them far enough a way and given them the time they needed to regroup, to shore up their strength and train their young until such a time when they were ready to give Madara their response.

His clan was grateful. Hero, they called him. Minato certainly didn’t feel like one. 

Only six at the time of Minato’s return, Naruto had already been marked an outcast, a danger, and a nuisance. It was a strange and unsettling thing, to see such melancholy and anger in a child so young. The boy had been kidnapped while he was gone, they told him, but Minato had been far too much of a coward to dig into the specifics of what his son endured during the time he was taken. 

He wasn’t even sure who had taken his only child. He’d demanded to know, of course, if only to get his retribution, but the matter had already been settled and closed. The man was already long dead. Kakashi had shown him he was wrong about his assumption that the Kyuubi was an easy target, housed in the body of a small child. Kakashi made him suffer terribly for the error in judgment, lashing out on the man with such ferocity that there was nothing left of him to bury for anyone that might have given him the respect of such thing and no way of identifying the man. Kakashi hadn’t bothered taking the time to get a name. Not that Minato blamed him.

Kakashi had saved Naruto and brought him back safely, but not unharmed. The damage had been done. Minato had no one to blame but himself. He’d gotten quite good at that, at least.

Sometimes, he found it hard to even look at Naruto and harder still to be his father. It wasn’t like he had any right to call himself one. Kakashi had more right to the title than he did, having done everything in his power to fulfill the duties Minato neglected. 

Minato could give his life for his erstwhile pupil and it still wouldn’t be enough to repay him. 

“It’s good news, sensei,” Kakashi said at present, interrupting his dark thoughts. “You don’t have to worry. Itachi will look out for Naruto. There isn’t a shinobi in any world that would be any match for his Susano’o, even on his worst day.” 

He got to his feet and approached Minato, dropping a hand on his shoulder, flinching as his still raw skin made contact with the rough fabric of Minato’s worn Hokage robes. He had no right to those either.

“You should be the one to tell him,” Minato said, because certainly Naruto would appreciate the news far more coming from his beloved elder brother than from the father that abandoned him.

Kakashi’s normally carefree, deceptively open face closed off completely. “No,” he clipped out, short and succinct. “You’ll tell him.”

“Kakashi,” Minato whispered with a tired sigh. Time was, he’d take his old student to task for speaking to him in that tone. Not anymore. While Kakashi was normally still as respectful as ever toward Minato, even if they both knew the older man didn’t deserve it, Naruto was a subject on which Kakashi would give no quarter and pull no punches. 

“No,” Kakashi insisted, anger rising, uncharacteristically obvious about it. Kakashi was more apt to hiding his true feelings behind his ever present mask and a carefree smile. It was a habit his son had picked up and adapted to make his own, but Kakashi was slipping just now, a silent building anger seeping out from behind his guard. “If you’re going to avoid him all the time, it would have been better if you’d never returned.”

Minato swallowed down the bitterness that arose in his throat, tasting like soap. He took a breath. 

“I only meant he might prefer to hear it from you,” he said, more to clarify than to get out of having to speak to his son. “I don’t mind telling him, of course.”

Kakashi nodded, smile returning as if it had never left. “Good,” he said, crossing his arms before immediately dropping them back to his sides, his skin still far to sensitive to handle any kind of contact. “I’ll take Naruto out to celebrate after.” He nodded as if the matter was settled. 

Minato supposed it was. He fingered the edge of his glass of sake, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he let his thoughts drift for another moment.

“Are you really so pleased about it?” he inquired of the young white haired man, brow furrowed as he thought it over. “He’ll be in danger. Exposed. You know what it can be like out there.”

It was hard to tell with the mask, but Minato was almost certain Kakashi’s jaw clenched. He lifted his chin, eyes steady enough.

“I’m not worried,” Kakashi said without even a hint of dishonesty. “He’ll be with Itachi, as I said. And Naruto has plenty of skill all on his own, you know,” he added with not a small amount of pride. “You ought to train with him more, and not just to control the Kyuubi chakra. You’d be surprised to see what he’s capable of.”

Minato grunted his acknowledgment that he ought to do just that, but disagreed with the idea that Naruto’s ability would shock him. He was so much like Kushina despite looking like a younger version of Minato himself. He had every bit of his mother’s stubborn determination and fiery disposition. 

He cleared his throat, shaking his head to clear the image of his wife. It didn’t work. It never worked. He was haunted by her face daily and likely always would be.

“I thought you had another mission tonight,” Minato said, shifting topics just a bit. “How do you intend to do anything with Naruto when you’re meant to be gone the next few days?”

Kakashi waved him off, moving to the kitchen to pour himself of drink of his own. “Tsunade released me from her care but has forbidden me to do anything useful for the next week at least. They’re sending Kimimaro’s team instead.”

“I thought you’d only be gathering information?” Minato replied.

Kakashi shrugged. “Yes, that was the plan. I could have handled it still, but I find it is better not to argue with Tsunade-sama when she gets that look on her face.”

Minato raised both brows, but couldn’t disagree. The woman had a temper on her. He used to tease the older woman, playfully commenting that it was the touch of Uzumaki blood she carried that made her that way, but he hadn’t spoken to her in a few years now. She lived not five minutes away if he’d only step outside and he hadn’t bothered.

“I’m heading over to Uchiha house to help Itachi prepare for tonight’s training,” Kakashi said as he drained his glass with one swallow. “You should join me.”

Right. That wasn’t happening. It was almost as difficult facing Fugaku-san as it was facing Naruto. 

“No,” he replied simply. “Another time, perhaps.”

Kakashi only offered another shrug. He only ever pushed when it came to Naruto. “Suit yourself,” he said easily. “Do you need anything before I go?”

“I can manage.”

“You should at least get out of the house, sensei,” Kakashi commented as he moved to leave, slipping his sandals on as he came to the door. “I understand things aren’t great for you, but you only make things worse by refusing to try to move forward and leave the past where it belongs.” He exited the house without waiting for a response.

It was true and it wasn’t. He _did_ make things worse with every move he made, however, that didn’t mean he never _tried_. All he did was try to find a small piece of the man he once was. Minato wasn’t succeeding, was a failure in every sense of the word, but he tried like hell not to be every single day. 

He drained the rest of his sake and stood in the center of his kitchen, staring around the empty room for some task to occupy him until Naruto came home and he could give him the ‘good news’. 

He was no longer Hokage. They didn’t precisely have one at the moment. He had no duties to attend to, no friends to visit. He wandered his empty home until he found himself in his son’s bedroom, smiling softly at the photos that Naruto had lined his walls with. Pictures of Kakashi and Sasuke and Itachi. A few more with Gaara, Rock, and Sakura. The list went on and on but Minato wasn’t present in a single one. 

It wasn’t a surprise. Even after he’d returned, Minato had been so lost in his own pain and guilt that he never got around to spending much time with his son, though he continuously promised himself he would. He’d promised Naruto too, and broken his word every time. It served him right not to be counted among the precious people that filled the photos in his child’s room. 

He made his way over to Naruto’s bed and took a seat as he reached out to pick up the single frame that Naruto had displayed on his bedside table. In it was a picture of Kakashi positioned just behind Naruto and Sasuke with a hand atop each boy’s head, his grey eyes bright with amusement. Sasuke face was marked with clear distaste, while Naruto’s eyes were scrunched tightly shut, his tongue hanging out of his mouth in a comical fashion. Itachi stood even further back and off to the side, one hand on his hip as he gazed upon the trio with a thin smirk on his lips. Naruto looked to be around ten so Minato had been ‘around’ somewhere when the picture was taken, but he couldn’t speak to what was happening in it. He didn’t have a clue.

Naruto had become the man he was without him. It was only right that he surround himself with reminders of the people that actually had a hand in making him who he was. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_About Five Years Ago…_

_Kakashi found Naruto on one of the highest branches of the tallest trees in the wooded area just beyond their new makeshift village. Even from below, Kakashi could see the boy was pouting as he stared down at his new forehead protector._

_Using the body flicker technique, Kakashi appeared next to the young boy._

_“Why the long face, Naru-chan?” he asked, cautiously sitting down next to his brother, hoping against all hope that the sketchy looking branch didn’t snap beneath them. They were fairly high up. He rested a hand on Naruto’s shoulder for no other reason than to be prepared to whisk the boy out of harms way if the worst happened._

_“Don’t call me that, anymore,” Naruto sulked, kicking his legs carelessly through the air. “That’s a kid name. Call me Naruto. I’m a genin now.”_

_Kakashi smirked, grateful as ever for the mask that hid most of his face. “Naruto then,” he agreed, making sure to keep the fond amusement he felt out of his town. “And you_ are _a genin now. You should be celebrating, not pouting.”_

 _Naruto’s face twisted. “I’m_ not _pouting.”_

_“Naruto,” Kakashi said with a sigh, jostling him with the grip he had on his shoulder to force him to look up. “What’s wrong?”_

_Naruto was silent for a moment but Kakashi knew he’d get around to saying what was on his mind. Only ten years old, Naruto was already an old pro at bottling up his feelings, locking them away where no one could see or use them against him. He wasn’t a closed off boy, in any way, but he was well practiced at burying the things that hurt, choosing instead to loudly broadcast things that didn’t matter so much, further distracting any onlookers from what might be happening beneath the surface. It was a skill that would make any worthy shinobi envious. But Naruto had never learned to use it against Kakashi._

_“Sasuke’s mad at me again,” he grumbled after some time, glaring down at his forehead protector like it had insulted him._

_Ah. Well. That would do it every time._

_Kakashi tried not to grin. He was more than familiar with the Uchiha clan’s trademark short tempers, but their loyalty and devotion ran deeper than anything else. He was perfectly aware Naruto had nothing to worry about. Sasuke would get over it, but telling Naruto that never seemed to help. He hated being in the other boy’s bad graces._

_“Is he?” Kakashi asked in lieu of reassuring his younger brother just yet. “What happened this time?”_

_Naruto’s face twisted. “Yes, and I’m mad at him too, you know? It’s not like I_ wanted _to be on Itachi sensei’s team,” he complained full of forlorn misery. “I wanted to be on your team, niichan.” He groaned and in an impulsive fit of frustration, tossed his head protector down toward the ground._

_The young boy had a habit of telegraphing his intentions though and Kakashi was ready for the move, his foot poised to kick the metal plate back up and into his waiting hand._

_Naruto was thoroughly unimpressed. “I don’t even want it, niichan!” he insisted. “It’s not fair!”_

_“Fair?” Kakashi replied, hanging on to the item for now as he narrowed his eyes. “I thought you said you weren’t a little kid anymore.”_

_“I’m not!” The young blond insisted, bristling. He sniffed. “You’re my brother, Kakashi. You’ve been training me all this time. I should be on your team.” He balled his little hand into a fist and punched his own thigh._

_Kakashi extended his arm, shifting his grip to pull Naruto in to his side. “And I’ll be your brother whether you’re on my team or not. We’ll still train together every day.”_

_“…Yeah?” Naruto responded, wiping at his nose with the back of his wrist. On any other person in the world, Kakashi would have found the move gross and off putting. But he’d practically raised Naruto and had been exposed to far more of his fluids than he liked to think about and when the snort covered wrist made contact with the side of his leg, he didn’t bother kicking up a fuss about it._

_“Of course,” Kakashi reassured him. “We don’t need to be on the same team to be brothers.”_

_“Itachi likes Sasuke more than me,” Naruto pointed out, shifting tactics._

_Kakashi only grinned. “That’s alright.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially as if revealing a great secret. “I like_ you _more than Sasuke.”_

_“Oh yeah! I didn’t think of that,” Naruto said, brightening for a moment, always excited to beat Sasuke at anything at all. His face fell again only a second later. “Sasuke’s still mad at me, though,” he remembered._

_Kakashi shook his head, carefully getting to his feet, dragging his brother with him, keeping his grip on the young boy firm. “He won’t be for long. He’s just upset, like you. Itachi will speak with him and everything will be fine.”_

_“You don’t know that,” Naruto grumbled._

_“I do,” Kakashi said with an easy certainty. “Now, then. If you come down and stop pouting, I’ll teach you a secret technique that the rest of your classmates won’t learn for years; the Kage Bunshin no jutsu.”_

_Misery forgotten – along with his precarious location at the top of a very tall tree apparently – Naruto jumped into the air, raising a fist in his excitement. “All right!”_

_Kakashi’s heart almost gave out on him as he scrambled to catch the boy before he fell to the ground. He pulled his brother in close, concentrating to transport the both of them to the forest floor using his flicker technique again. Naruto was going to be the death of him._

_“You’re going to turn my hair white, I swear it,” Kakashi mumbled trying to calm his nerves again._

_Naruto snorted. “Your hair is already white, niichan,” he pointed out, quickly dismissing the concern. He grabbed Kakashi’s arm, tugging impatiently. “Come on. You said you’d teach me to make a shadow clone. Hurry up. Let’s go already. Sasuke won’t believe it when he finds out. He’ll have to talk to me then.”_

_Naruto did in fact learn to make a shadow clone. More than one. More than a few. More even than Kakashi himself could manage, Naruto’s ridiculous chakra reserves making it an easy task for him once he got the technique down._

_It took them all night, but the young blonde outright refused to give up no matter how much Kakashi insisted they get some sleep and pick it up again in the morning. He hadn’t had the heart to force the young boy to let it go. He was the one that taught Naruto that giving up was for cowards in the first place and it wasn’t like Kakashi minded spending the night watching him give his all to achieve his goal. Kakashi never tired of Naruto._

_The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when he got it down, dozens of clones appearing around them in the forest, Naruto panting and grinning, his bright blue eyes lit with satisfaction._

_It was still a few more days before Sasuke was willing to mend fences, even with Naruto’s repeated insistence that he’d swap teams with the stubborn young Uchiha if it was at all possible._

_It was only when Kakashi grabbed both of their heads and knocked them together so many times that the boys had been forced into a truce, both turning their anger upon him, that their grudge was apparently forgotten._

_Ah, Kakashi thought as he playfully fended the two children off, Itachi watching from nearby with some amusement. All was right in the world again._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Wayy to much boring exposition in this chapter and there are SOOO many other issues, I won't even get started on it all. I hope it wasn't too terrible for you. Exposition is a necessary evil. I wish I was better at delivering it... 0.o I have terrible pacing issues, so while way too little happens in this chapter, I believe the next one will overcompensate for that with entirely too much happening. Not sure that makes anything better. *shrug*
> 
> I swear this fic is a Naruto/Sasuke fic. With a pretty heavy dose of Kakashi/Itachi. And just a shot of Hinata/Neji. It's coming, I promise.
> 
> Also, why did I resurrect Minato only to make him a neglectful, awful, no good, very bad dad? No idea. Conflict, perhaps? Your guess is as good as mine. There is no method to this madness whatsoever. 
> 
> A note, in case it wasn't clear in the content: Minato is UZUMAKI. 'Namikaze' is nothing more than a technique he's known for. I imagine him being pretty distant in his relation to Kushina. Maybe it'll come up again in the narrative of this fic at some point, but *shrug* Idk. I should probably be taking this more seriously, but again, I'm really just having some fun here. 
> 
> *snort* I haven't even given the school they attend a name. Did y'all notice? I'm sure you did. My mind was shot with all the other considerations for this fic and... I had nothing. If you need an excuse. ;p Ahem. And on the note of things that don't make sense... it's occurred to me several times that lacing this fic with random Japanese words that are regularly used elsewhere in English makes little sense. I don't care. It's fun, okay?
> 
> Lol, perhaps I'll get more serious about this as it continues but right now? If I took it even a little bit more seriously, it would most definitely stall my progress in completing it. I'm having fun and I want to keep it that way.
> 
> But just to get serious where I just said I wouldn't... If you found the shifting POVs confusing or jarring, leave it in the comments. I will make an effort to add POV indicators in the future. 
> 
> I’m a bit further ahead in writing this, desperately hoping that I can keep far enough ahead to continue to update on a semi-regular basis, so I can at least say that SO FAR, POV is limited to my ‘main cast’ of characters. It just so happens that it’s a larger cast than I’ve ever attempted to tackle before. We’ll see how it goes. Thoughts?
> 
> Cheers. More next Sunday. XD
> 
> *Gochisamateshita (sp?) - *shrug* Thank you for the meal? I think (open to being corrected). Said at the end of a meal, similar to ‘Itadakimasu’ at the beginning and I think you’re all familiar with that one. ;)
> 
> Sakura trees – Japanese cherry, of course. I have no idea when they bloom or whether they grow in the same climes as the other plants listed and I did MINIMAL research at the time of writing this. I already told y’all I was an irresponsible writer. Sakura trees included to honor the accomplishments of the fallen shinobi and the beauty of their sacrifice. Pretty sure I heard that they symbolize something along those lines at one point. 0.o 
> 
> Rabenda (Lavender) – To honor the faithful? 
> 
> Kinmokusei (Orange…blossoms?) – symbolizing truth and nobility.  
> I’m a dork. Don’t take me too seriously.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still shamefully unedited. >.<
> 
> Thank you, all of you people that read. You have my love.

Minato sighed as he cut his way through thick shrubbery as he led Naruto deep into the forest. Naruto had been as thrilled as expected to learn that he’d finally be able to go on serious missions and Minato had decided that it was far passed time he got serious about teaching his son to manage the nine tails’ chakra. 

Seeing Naruto’s reaction to the council’s decision regarding him had lifted Minato’s spirits considerably and without giving it much thought, he informed his son that they’d be taking their training together to the next level.

“Really?” Naruto had asked, not without a fair amount of excited anticipation. 

Minato had nodded, basking in one of the brightest smiles he’d ever received from his son. “I promise,” he had said.

“You ‘promise’?” Naruto repeated, doing very little to conceal his obvious skepticism. “Heh. Okay, Dad. Sure.”

And just as quickly as they’d risen, his spirits had come crashing back down. He really had been a terrible father. 

He could only get better, he told himself as he and Naruto continued on their journey through the woods. With as low as Minato had fallen, the only way to go was up. 

“Are you ready for this?” he asked Naruto presently. It was a useless, inane question, but Minato had been trying to make any kind of conversation with his son ever since they’d set off from their makeshift ‘village’ if you could call just a handful of structures on a few acres of land that. 

Minato had playfully dubbed their new home ‘the village hidden in the stars’ but only in the privacy of his own mind. He no longer had anyone to share his ridiculous designations with. Kushina, at least, would have been amused. He wondered if Naruto would be as well. The boy was so much like his mother that it was sometimes painful for Minato to be around him.

“Of course, I’m ready,” Naruto muttered as he distractedly picked the remnants of a spider web he’d run into out of his hair. 

“Are you excited?” Minato questioned somewhat lamely. He wasn’t sure how to talk to Naruto. He never had been. Kakashi insisted it wasn’t a difficult thing, swearing Naruto could carry on full conversations all on his own, but Minato had never seen that side of his son. Naruto was mostly quiet in his presence.

“Excited?” Naruto asked, both brows raised as he looked at Minato like he might be coming down with some sort of illness. “I guess.” He shrugged, glancing around. “Are we almost there?”

“Almost,” Minato replied, and silence descended upon them once more. It was hard not to be discouraged by it.

Minutes passed without any further attempts from Minato to get his son to speak before Naruto spoke up all on his own. “I wish Kakashi were here,” he said with brutal honesty.

Minato flinched, happy to be far enough ahead of Naruto that he wouldn’t see the effect of his words. Not that he disagreed with the boy. It was always easier to interact with Naruto when Kakashi was there to act as mediator. 

How pathetic. Naruto was his son. He could do this.

“Do you understand what we’re doing today?” Minato asked deciding not to respond to Naruto’s comment. He cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth. How patronizing. Fortunately, Naruto either didn’t notice or didn’t mind.

“More meditation to help me manage the Kyuubi?” Naruto replied sounding relieved to be talking about anything at all. “Though… I don’t understand why we have to go so far from home to do _that_.”

“Ah,” Minato said, shooting the young blond a grin over his shoulder. “That’s easy, Naruto. We’re going all this way because we will _not_ be meditating today. What we’re doing this time will be far more dangerous.” 

“Really?” Naruto responded with unconcealed interest. He quickened his steps to move up to Minato’s side. “What are we doing then?”

Minato grinned, appreciative of the small victory. “I think it’s time you and Kurama got better acquainted, that’s all,” he said with an easy shrug. “It can be dangerous though, and it certainly won’t be easy. Prepare yourself?”

“Kurama?” Naruto repeated, face twisting in confusion. 

Minato could only kick himself as he realized it was the first time he’d named the beast that lived inside of both of them. He’d made so many mistakes, he wasn’t sure it’d be possible to come back from them. 

“That is the Kyuubi’s name,” Minato informed him, doing his best not to let his guilt affect him. 

“It has a name,” Naruto deadpanned before turning a set of narrowed, accusing blue eyes upon his father. “And _you_ know it.” Naruto scoffed and shook his head.

Minato swallowed, carrying on. “Yeah, sorry,” he mumbled, not bothering to hide his shame. “I haven’t been the best father, have I?”

Naruto let out a snort. “No.” 

Well, that was…direct. 

Minato took a breath. “I won’t bother apologizing to you again, Naruto,” he said, deciding to respond with like candor. “I think we’ve both had enough of me disappointing you with empty words.” 

“Yeah.”

Hell, but the boy didn’t pull his punches, did he? He was Kushina’s, through and through. Minato smiled in spite of the yearning and sore guilt that clawed at the inside of his chest.

“I know,” he said, finding his son’s openness strangely refreshing, if painful for the memories it invoked of things long lost. “I won’t promise you that I’ll be better, because I don’t even know that I _can_. I intend to try. I don’t expect you to believe that because I know I’ve said as much before but… I’m hoping you’ll give me the chance to _show_ you.”

Naruto was silent for long enough that Minato gave up on hoping that the boy might reply. but just as they arrived at the clearing Minato sometimes visited to let out his frustrations, Naruto let out a long, breath that sounded somewhat weary.

“I never stop giving you the chance to do that, Dad,” Naruto said finally, his voice so soft Minato almost missed it but firm. Resolute, if a little resigned.

Minato swallowed around a lump that formed abruptly in his throat. “You’re a better man than I am, Naruto,” he commented, just as quietly.

Naruto shrugged. “I will be,” he declared with certainty.

Minato’s brows rose. Huh. 

He cleared his throat. “Well, then,” he said, shifting topics as he rubbed his hands together. “Before we get started, we need to have a conversation about the exchange of chakra between you and Kurama.”

Naruto’s groan was long and loud. He raised a finger, pointing at Minato with an accusing glare. “Studying?!” he shouted outraged. “You tricked me!”

One look at his son’s indignant face shocked a laugh out of Minato for the first time in years, it seemed. And once he’d started, it was a long while before he could stop, gut clenching until it hurt, eyes glossing over with tears of mirth. He wasn’t even sure why he found it so funny.

When he finally sobered, he looked up to see his son looking at him with a tentative, crooked smile, genuine surprise sparkling in his blue eyes and it occurred to Minato that it was likely the first time Naruto had _ever_ heard him laugh. It was certainly the first time Minato had seen that particular look on his son’s face.

Seeing it made him feel like he’d won some sort of victory and it renewed his determination to turn over a new leaf with regard to Naruto. 

They had a long way to go, but Minato could do nothing but begin the path forward. He had to start somewhere.

As he led the two of them into the center of the field and dropped down to take a seat in the grass, Naruto following suit without question, Minato decided there were far worse places to start.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke trudged down a busy street toward school, resigned to another day of dull classes and even duller social interactions with students whose biggest concerns were what to where and where to hang out after school let out. Sasuke was simply sick of it all. He had better things to worry about.

Like whatever the hell was going on with Naruto. For days the blond had been walking around with slow steps and sunken eyes that spoke of a deep exhaustion and Sasuke had yet to figure out why.

“You seem to be in a particularly foul mood today,” Neji commented, not sounding overly interested, but apparently deciding to speak on it anyway. “Is it Naruto?”

“What? No,” Sasuke snapped immediately, turning a sneer on his teammate. “Why would you ask that?” Had he spoken aloud without meaning to? Doubtful, but having Neji say Naruto’s name almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind was jarring.

“You’ve been glaring at his back since we started walking this morning,” Neji replied easily. 

Sasuke rolled his eyes, relaxing. He already had an excuse handy. “He’s walking ahead of us,” he pointed out. “I’m not glaring at _him_ , I’m just…glaring.” He let out a sigh. “Going to this school is a waste of time. I’d rather be working on changing the form of my Chidori.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it wasn’t a lie either.

“Agreed,” Neji said with a note of distain, before shrugging. “I thought for a moment you might have been responsible for Naruto’s bruises and the bags he’s been wearing under his eyes for the last couple days.”

“Tch,” Sasuke scoffed. “I wouldn’t bother wasting the effort on him.”

His old friend had been walking around looking like he’d been through the ringer and no one seemed to have any clue as to why, not even Itachi. Sasuke figured Kakashi probably knew but he’d been suspiciously unavailable outside of their nightly training sessions and Sasuke was beginning to get…frustrated.

“Naruto isn’t that bad,” Neji said, thoughtfully considering the boy that walked a short distance ahead of them, Hinata in tow. She was likely the only reason Neji hadn’t questioned the way that Sasuke had lingered at home before leaving, waiting for Naruto to leave first so he could follow behind, searching for any clue as to what might be going on with him. Sasuke hated not having the answers.

“Hn,” he grunted, freely staring at the boy in front of them now that Neji was doing the same. “He’s an idiot.”

Neji let out a rare chuckle. “I think he likes for people to think so.”

“No, he really is,” Sasuke insisted, certain of this one fact. 

Neji snorted. “With some things, perhaps,” he conceded with a single nod. “But not all. He’s helped bring a few…important matters to my attention in the past.”

Sasuke bit down on his tongue to keep himself from asking the obvious question. If Neji of all people was admitting that there was some subject Naruto had outwitted him in, it was worth taking notice. Neji could be even more arrogant than Sasuke.

But it wasn’t like Sasuke could just come out and _ask_ and risk revealing his interest. He let the subject drop, the two of them making the rest of the journey to school in relative silence.

They arrived early, and as was usual for the two of them, they made themselves comfortable under a tree out front of the school to await the bell that signaled the start of the day’s classes. 

They’d only just settled when the boy that had accosted Sasuke at lunch at the start of the week plopped down next to them, not asking permission.

“Hey,” the guy said to Sasuke, adjusting his glasses. “It’s you again.”

Sasuke arched a brow at his audacity. “Is there something you want?” he asked, opting to get straight to the point in effort to get rid of the unwanted nuisance sooner rather than later. Obviously ignoring the older boy did little to discourage him. Sasuke wondered what he wanted. It didn’t seem the to be the done thing for the upperclassmen to consort with their younger counterparts.

“I’m Kabuto,” the boy – Kabuto apparently – said extending a hand as he introduced himself.

Sasuke ignored it. “So?”

Kabuto shrugged, smiling wide. “You’re not very friendly, are you?”

What do you know – the nuisance wasn’t completely clueless after all.

“What do you want?” This came from Neji, his tone just as cool and closed off as Sasuke’s. No one would ever accuse either of them of being ‘social’ types. It was highly probable that the only reason that spent so much time with each other was because neither ever expected the other to engage, both content to get lost in their own thoughts and concerns.

Sometimes, Sasuke was hard pressed to even call Neji his friend. He was his comrade, to be sure, and Sasuke trusted him as such but ‘friend’ seemed to be stretching it a bit. Sasuke wasn’t sure he’d had an actual friend since he’d shoved Naruto out of his life, unless Itachi counted and Sasuke was pretty sure blooded brothers didn’t count as friends.

Neji was the closest thing he had, but the relationship the two of them shared was _nothing_ like the one he’d had with Naruto. 

“I’m new here as I told your friend the other day,” Kabuto responded to Neji’s inquiry, unbothered by the cool reception he was receiving. “You guys seemed different than the others. I wanted to say hi.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “We’re not different. We just don’t like people.”

“That seems pretty different,” Kabuto countered, full of interest. “Why not?”

“Are you daft?” Neji asked, not bothering to consider the inquiry. “We clearly want you to leave.”

On second thought, Neji was _absolutely_ Sasuke’s friend. There was no end to Sasuke’s appreciation for his ability to get straight to the point.

“I was getting that impression, yes,” Kabuto said with an impish smirk that Sasuke wanted to punch off his face. 

“So why are you still here?” the irritated Uchiha pressed, growing annoyed with his apparent inability to intimidate this peculiar person. 

Kabuto shrugged. “It’s a free country, more or less. I can sit wherever I please, can I not?”

Sasuke and Neji exchanged a glance and the two of them stood in unison, mutually deciding to go elsewhere if Kabuto wouldn’t. There were only seconds left before one or _both_ of them lost their tempers. It would be stupid to stay.

The sound of Kabuto’s amused laughter carried after them. “Hey, _Hyuga_ ,” he called before they could get too far away.

Sasuke and Neji froze in their tracks, both perfectly aware they most certainly hadn’t given the imp faced boy their names. They wouldn’t. Definitely not their surnames, which they didn’t use anywhere outside of clan grounds. They were in _hiding_ and they weren’t idiots.

Neji’s eyes narrowed as he turned back and Sasuke grabbed his shoulder, sensing his lethal intent. It wasn’t the time or place for an altercation.

“Those eyes of yours are pretty unique, eh? Like something out of a tale my grandmother used to be fond of telling,” Kabuto said, eyes shining with a sadistic mirth. 

Neji snarled, surging forward at the taunt.

“Neji,” Sasuke snapped louder than he meant to, tightening his grip on his companions’ shoulder. “It’ll have to wait for another time,” he murmured under his breath, doing his best not to draw attention. 

“We can’t just leave him,” Neji retorted with an understandable urgency lacing the words. “He obviously knows. We need to grab him and bring him back to Ibiki and Inoichi-san.”

He was right, of course. They couldn’t risk letting Kabuto get away to relay their position to whoever else he might be working with, if he hadn’t already done so. And if the boy already _had_ given up any information, they needed to find out whatever it was he knew and who he’d told as soon as possible.

Sasuke glanced around them at the students milling about in every direction. It was too crowded. They wouldn’t be able to manage it without attracting far too much unwanted attention. From the smug look on Kabuto’s face, he knew it too.

“I’ll stay on him,” Sasuke told Neji, jerking him to get his attention as he conceded the point. “You go find sensei or my brother.” While he’d had plenty of stealth training, _both_ his brother and Kakashi out skilled him in the area by far, loath as he was to admit it. “Kakashi, for choice, if you can find him quickly,” he added, remembering that his sensei had copied Hayate-san’s Transparent Escape before the man was killed in action on a mission a few years back.

“No, _I’ll_ stay on him,” Neji argued, making a move in Kabuto’s direction. “You go get sensei.”

Sasuke jerked him right back. “You can’t be trusted not to throttle him.”

Neji arched a skeptical brow. “Neither can you,” he pointed out.

And, well. He had a point. 

“My eyes are better,” Neji offered. “I’m better suited to keep track of him if he tries to get away.”

Sasuke scoffed, offended. “Your eyes are better for _some things_ ,” he felt the need to clarify. Everyone knew that, overall? The Sharingan would always beat the Byakugan as far as usefulness went. So, what if Neji could see through walls and got a clearer picture of a person’s chakra? Who the hell cared? Sasuke could do far more with his Sharingan. 

Perhaps there was a reason for the old rivalry between their clans. 

“Besides,” Sasuke sneered, lifting his chin. “Neither of us can use our dojutsu here anyway and I won’t be letting him get far enough away to escape my sight.” He shoved Neji, moving back in Kabuto’s direction. “Go,” he went on. “We don’t have time to stand here arguing about it.”

Neji growled, but grudgingly accepted Sasuke’s point and trudged of at a brisk walk, likely deciding to wait until he could get out of sight to run.

Sasuke turned his eyes upon Kabuto. Kabuto grinned back.

Well, Sasuke thought, perhaps this day wouldn’t be quite so dull after all.

*

He was wrong. Tailing Kabuto was shaping up to be the most boring mission Sasuke had ever had… if you could even call it a mission. Sasuke wasn’t sure it constituted.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but watching Kabuto move from class to class, harassing random students with his overbearing friendliness was not it. Sasuke had skipped all of his classes to tail the boy, but he’d yet to do anything suspicious. Nor had he made a single move to get away. Was he stupid?

Around lunch, Sasuke had determined that the grey-haired boy was most definitely _fucking_ with him. 

Kabuto decided to approach Naruto and Rock, striking up a conversation and Sasuke’s spine itched with the urge to simply beat the boy’s face to a bloody pulp and be done with it. He seethed as he watched on from a short distance away, keeping out of sight as he’d been doing all day. He didn’t care if Kabuto knew he was being followed, but it wouldn’t do for one of his teachers to see him and force him off to class. It wasn’t such a concern during their lunch hour, but he thought it best to keep at it, keeping himself hidden with a simple genjutsu.

He could certainly understand why Kabuto would hone in on the two hyperactive dolts. If anything, seeing Kabuto do it had Sasuke wondering why the impostor hadn’t bothered to approach Naruto or Rock _first_ , choosing instead to waylay the two most visibly standoffish and suspicious members of their clan. If Kabuto was even remotely observant, he would have picked out those two affable idiots as the way in if ever there was one. Maybe Kabuto was simply a moron. He had been awful quick to show his hand to him and Neji, after all. 

Sasuke was about to make his approach, hoping to give his comrades some sort of clue that Kabuto wasn’t to be trusted, even if all of them already knew better than to give outsiders any kind of information. Better safe than sorry. 

However, much to his surprise, Naruto hadn’t wasted much time at all conversing with Kabuto. He only listened to the boy a moment before his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed in obvious suspicion. He nudged Rock, gesturing for him to follow before turning his back, dismissing the stranger seconds after he wandered up, offering only a careless wave over his shoulder as he walked away right in the middle of one of Kabuto’s sentences. 

It wasn’t like Naruto to be rude. Not without a reason. For a moment, Sasuke wondered if Kabuto had revealed himself on purpose as he had earlier that morning with him and Neji, but even Naruto wasn’t stupid enough to just walk away if that were the case. Furthermore, the smug air Kabuto had sported when taunting him and Neji was nowhere to be seen. Kabuto glared after Naruto in undisguised shock.

Sasuke smirked. Perhaps the dobe wasn’t _completely_ hopeless. Sasuke had honestly known that already, but friendly people had always been a weak spot for Naruto. Yet, Naruto had managed to read Kabuto quicker than even Sasuke had. 

Sasuke’s smirk disappeared as he felt the familiar itch of irritation at being outdone by his old rival. 

“I’m so proud I could _cry_.”

Sasuke about pissed himself at the abrupt voice of his sensei directly in his ear, the man appearing _right behind him_ , seemingly out of thin air. 

“Damn it, _Kakashi_ ,” he spat in a harsh whisper. Sasuke hated being snuck up on. He hated that Kakashi could manage to do it. But then, that had been his entire reasoning for specifically telling Neji to bring him. “Do you need to be so close?!”

Kakashi didn’t respond, still gazing down the hall after Naruto. “You saw that, right?” his sensei gushed. “His instincts are getting sharper, no?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Aren’t you here for a reason? What’s the plan?”

Kakashi waved him off. “I’ve got it covered,” he said, easy and unconcerned. “You’re…relieved of your duty here,” he added, puffing out his chest affecting a deeply inflated official tone.

Sasuke clenched his jaw. “I’ve been tailing him _all day_ ,” he protested. “I should…”

”Sasuke,” Kakashi clipped, finally using his serious voice, though the little that could be seen of his face hadn’t changed one bit, eyes sparkling with a delighted mischief. “I’ve got this. Go back to class or wherever. Just make sure you’re seen.”

Sasuke’s face twisted with displeasure at the implication. It wasn’t like he’d been caught following Kabuto. He’d made sure of it. 

“No one saw me,” he informed his sensei, making his offense clear on his face and in his tone.

Kakashi patted the top of his head. Sasuke punched him in the stomach for it, scowling when Kakashi laughed like the hit was more amusing than painful.

”Do as I say, Sasuke,” he told him. “Everyone saw you with Kabuto this morning,” he went on to explain. “I know you’re more than capable. You’ve done well. You’re _my_ student, after all.” He sniffed exaggeratedly. “My brother and my favorite pupil both… I am so proud I could cry.”

Sasuke tried not to let the praise butter him up in any way, but it was a lost cause. He was almost as much a sucker for acknowledgement as Naruto. 

Even when it was being delivered by the world’s biggest smart ass. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kakashi lingered in the halls of the school, tailing Kabuto for an hour longer making sure he was seen by a few teachers and students alike now that Neji and Sasuke were both back in class before making his move. It was probably an unnecessary precaution, but it wouldn’t hurt. 

He made his move just before the last class of the day as the students were making yet another shift between rooms. Kakashi simply strolled up to the boy, dropping a casual arm across his shoulders as if they were old friends.

“Hey there,” he greeted, with feigned familiarity before dragging Kabuto back into a secluded alcove. It took him only a half a second more to subtly use his sensei’s teleportation technique to get them out of the school and away from prying eyes. Kabuto hadn’t had a chance to make a sound.

Unfortunately, Kakashi was nowhere near as skilled with his sensei’s flying Raijinn as he was with the body flicker technique, and the latter required a line of sight on his destination. It would be useless, given that if he could see whatever place he transported them to, so could everyone nearby. It would have to be the Flying Raijinn. He could manage it, he just wouldn’t be able to get very far, especially not bringing Kabuto along with him. 

He’d left no less than a dozen marks scattered around the school, close enough to manage the jump, and far enough to be out of sight. He took Kabuto to the roof, deciding he’d figure out what to do with him there.

“I won’t go down easily,” Kabuto informed him without a hint of anxiety as soon as they appeared at the mark Kakashi had set upon the roof. He stepped away from Kakashi and the two began to circle one another.

Kakashi offered him a grin he didn’t really feel. He didn’t mind a fight. He just…preferred not to have one when the risk of exposure was so high. Even teleporting had been a risk he’d rather not have had to take.

“Fine with me,” Kakashi lied as his mind sifting through his options. He needed to end this quickly. “I’m always up for a challenge.”

“You’ll get one,” Kabuto assured him, his stance relaxed, hands open and hanging loosely at his sides.

Kakashi sighed. “Say,” he said, adopting a playfully curious tone. “I don’t suppose I’d be able to convince you to tell me everything you know and who you’re working for before I take you out?”

Kabuto laughed. “I think not,” he laughed with genuine amusement. “I don’t intend to be taken out.”

Kakashi obviously wasn’t expecting him to, only biding his time until he could come up with a reasonable plan that he could execute without alerting the entire town to the presence of two ninja at the local high school. 

“Shame,” Kakashi said carelessly. He sighed again, reaching up pull his mask down and his headband up, revealing his Sharingan. 

Kabuto’s eyes widened. “You’re… you’re an Uchiha,” he breathed in awe and excitement. No fear though, Kakashi noted.

“Not quite,” Kakashi said with a click of his tongue as he shook his head, Sharingan spinning as he activated it. Kabuto wouldn’t be able to make a move without him following it.

If anything, Kabuto’s eyes widened further. “Then… you’re Hatake Kakashi of the copy wheel eye.” His face twisted into a happy smirk. “My master will be quite pleased to hear I’ve gotten rid of you. The White Fang killed his parents. Perhaps, I should save you for him to finish off?”

“You know me?” Kakashi asked with authentic surprise. He’d been little more than a child before he went into hiding. “How?”

“An old partner of my master’s once tried to obtain the power of the Kyuubi for him,” Kabuto explained, too cocky for his own good, holding nothing back. “My master wasn’t sure if he was trustworthy, so he had one of his spies stationed nearby the day you…well, you know what you did.” 

“Yeah,” Kakashi confirmed without shame, hackles up, no longer looking to avoid this particular altercation. He was almost salivating now at the opportunity to take this man down and find his master and anyone else that had ever been associated with the sick fuck that had so viciously abused his brother at so young an age. “Do you know this old…’partner’s’ name?”

Kabuto raised a brow. “Don’t you? You eviscerated him, after all.” He smirked. “What technique did you use for that, since we’re talking about it? I’ve always wondered.”

Kakashi allowed a slow, nasty grin to take over his face until it reached his eyes. “Just my hands, I’m afraid,” he said, wiggling his fingers in front of his face. “And believe it or not, I didn’t think to take the time to ask for his name. He touched something precious to me. That was all I needed to know.”

“Tell you what,” Kabuto offered as he shifted into a fighting stance. “Beat me and I’ll give up his name. But only his. Not my masters.” He paused, considering. 

“Tsk,” Kakashi clucked, shaking his head mournfully. “I’m afraid my self control will only allow me to leave just enough pieces of you to make it through my comrade’s Psycho Mind Transmission.” He paused, eyeing the man speculatively. “Hm. I don’t fully know how that works. Do you think he’ll require more than just your head? That might be all I can offer him.

“At any rate, you’ll find I don’t actually need you to speak to know all of the secrets in that mind of yours. I was only curious to see how much you’d tell me. You are particularly chatty for a spy, aren’t you?”

Kabuto jaw twitched, but otherwise didn’t react. “I know you all are in hiding here. You won’t be able to cause a scene like the one you did in Baki’s cave so long ago.”

Kakashi noted, not without amusement that however calm the man was trying to appear, he’d slipped up and offered Kakashi the name he said he’d only give upon Kakashi’s victory. 

He barked out a dark laugh. “I’m afraid you are incorrect in that assumption,” he informed the silver imp with a wicked sort of delight. “You’ve spent too long gossiping, Kabuto. You’ve given me far too much time to _think_ , to consider my options.” He flickered forward, twisting his hand in the front of Kabuto’s shirt and dragging him out of sight. 

He leaned close as he whispered, “Kamui,” and the two vanished out of sight in a dark swirl of shifting matter.

*

Normally a stickler for the rules and following orders, Kakashi had learned a long time ago that there were _some_ things that were more important. 

He’d been taught a brutal lesson with everything that happened with Obito and Rin and had determined that it was vital to know, to understand and to be certain of what it was that he valued above everything else. And it was imperative that he know _before_ he lost it and was left with nothing but regret. 

And Kakashi _was_ certain. He knew what was most essential for himself. He was beyond having doubts about his priorities anymore. There were things that were far more important than keeping to rules and orders and even oaths he’d made to his clan and his home. Naruto made the very short list. 

Kabuto may not have been in any way responsible for taking Naruto years ago, or for the damage that had been inflicted upon the young blond during the _three long weeks_ he was gone, but he worked for the man that ordered it done. And even if Sasori hadn’t specifically sent Kabuto to take Naruto this time, surely there was no way the man wouldn’t have ceased the opportunity to grab Kakashi’s brother again and finish what he started.

Kabuto had _spoken_ to Naruto. He’d gotten far too close.

He’d made a promise to himself long ago in a dry desert, in a cave that was conversely dank for the way all of its walls had been spattered with blood. Not just Baki’s blood, but Naruto’s too. The young boy healed faster than anything Kakashi had ever seen before or even imagined but Pakkun had _smelled_ the blood, called out the information before Kakashi had even set eyes upon the sight of it. 

Naruto’s skin may have already knitted back together, but his clothing hadn’t done. The garments had been destroyed, shredded and torn away with acts Kakashi didn’t want to imagine, leaving his charge all but naked but for the dried blood that covered him all over, lying on the sand covered floor of the cave. 

A dark, feral man he may well have become, but Kakashi reasoned that what happened next in that cave wasn’t one of the things that made him so. He hardly remembered most of it. He’d blacked out and only came to when the deed was well _done_. His hands hand been blood stained and along with the rest of him. Kakashi could even taste some of the stuff in his mouth, though he had no recollection of how it got there. He was familiar with the way blood gushed and sprayed with some wounds so he could hazard a guess but had no real memories to back it up.

When he glanced up from his perusal of himself, Kakashi’s eyes fell on Naruto. His hair was brown with the same dried blood that was caked all over the rest of him. And Kakashi had been abruptly overwhelmed with the sudden weight of intense guilt when it became clear to him that Naruto had been watching for some time. As if he hadn’t been traumatized enough but what he’d already endured. His eyes were alert and he’d risen to a seated position, knees pulled to his chest, chubby arms wrapped around them.

“Don’t be scared,” Kakashi had told him, taking a tentative step back so as not to startle the young boy that had been his entire focus and duty for the last four years of his life. 

His obligation to Naruto began as penance but had somehow become his salvation. Naruto was meant to be his atonement for _so many mistakes_ but he had become far more important to Kakashi than the man ever realized a single person _could_ be. 

It made sense to him that Naruto might be scared, hesitant to have Kakashi too close after whatever the boy had just witnessed him do to the man that had been keeping Naruto hostage. 

He was wrong. “Not scared, niichan,” Naruto had whispered, voice raw and shot hoarse. Likely from screaming, Kakashi had noted with no small amount of anger returning to him at the sound. “I knew you’d come. I _knew_ it, niichan. I told him so.”

Kakashi had made a promise to himself that night and to Naruto too. He fully intended to keep his word on both counts. 

Never again. Kakashi would keep a close eye on Naruto for the rest of his life, no matter how old both of them got. Never again.

He felt not a bit of remorse for what he’d done to Baki. Neither did he feel any regret for what had befallen Kabuto.

“ _Hatake-san_.”

Inoichi let out a horrified gasp when Kakashi released Transparent Escape upon returning home, dropping the half dead body of Kabuto at Inoichi and Ibiki’s feet. The two men had been waiting for him at Hyuga house, as planned.

Ibiki, nowhere near as shocked as the blond man only raised an eyebrow. “It would appear I’m no longer needed here,” he observed, nudging at Kabuto’s near dead form. “Unless you require someone to hold your hand, Inoichi.” He smirked, delivering a heavy back handed smack to the center of Inoichi’s chest. “Come, my friend. I happen to know for a fact you’ve seen worse than this.”

Inoichi scowled, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear as he took a breath. “I was only _surprised_ ,” the man countered, not without offense. “His orders were to retrieve this…’Kabuto’. I wasn’t expecting…” He trailed off, not bothering to finish. Turning his attention back to Kakashi, and visibly pulling himself together, he asked, “Was all this really necessary?” 

“Yes.” 

Kakashi didn’t feel the need to offer further explanation. He glanced down at his hands, noting that the blood that covered them was already beginning to dry. 

“Hm,” Ibiki grunted, stepping forward to grab both Kakashi’s shoulders, leaning back to give him a good once over. “Can’t help but notice you’ve sustained hardly any injuries at all.” He glanced again at the lifeless body on the ground. “He can’t have put up such a fight that you needed to go this far.”

“He put up a fight. I was better.” Kakashi shrugged. “He’s still alive.”

“Barely,” Ibiki countered.

“Hm,” Kakashi replied, lacking any of the shame Ibiki meant to force upon him. “It was a near thing.” He glanced down at Kabuto and then back up at Inoichi. “You should hurry. I don’t think he has much time.”

Inoichi gaped at him, shocked at his lack of remorse. 

“Well. This is…unexpected,” Itachi commented neutrally as he approached from behind Kakashi. His gaze shifted from Kakashi to Kabuto and back again. “You knew him,” he decided, always far more perceptive than anyone had a right to be.

“Impossible,” Ibiki scoffed. “Hatake can’t have been more than fourteen when we left the world of shinobi behind. This Kabuto can’t be much older than that _now_. Though, it’s difficult to tell with all of the damage.”

“I didn’t know him, not really,” Kakashi clarified hollowly. “But… he knew the man from the cave.” He looked up to meet Itachi’s inquiring gaze, paying little mind to Inoichi and Ibiki now. He snorted. “It’s funny, but it never occurred to me to wonder what his name was before today. I only asked Kabuto what it was in the first place to find out how close he’d been to the man. Baki,” he spat. “It doesn’t seem like it fits, though I confess I don’t remember much about him. Truth told; I only remember the blood.” He glanced down and his red stained hands. “It wasn’t so different from Kabuto’s actually. Or anyone’s.” He felt like it should be for reasons that were incomprehensible to him. 

Ibiki cleared his throat, blinking away his astonishment. It appeared Kakashi had been able to shock even Konoha’s designated torturer. Imagine that. “He… you mean the man that tried to take the Kyuubi?”

“ _Naruto_ ,” Kakashi corrected, eyes flashing. “And he did more than try. He _did_ take him.”

Itachi stepped forward to wrap a delicate hand around Kakashi’s wrist, heedless of the blood. “Come, Kakash,” he whispered. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“He can’t just leave,” Inoichi protested. “He needs to be debriefed.”

“Later,” Itachi dismissed the men as if they didn’t both outrank him. He continued to pull Kakashi away. He nodded at Kabuto’s body as they retreated. “You should see to him. Kakashi can give his report another time.” A cocky smirk graced his lips. “There’s a celebration tonight, you know. It’s Konoha’s Day of Resolve. We shouldn’t sully it with such dark matters.”

Inoichi and Ibiki were both too stunned by his audacity to make further complaint before the two younger men disappeared out of sight.

Once out of ear shot, Itachi leveled him with an apprehensive gaze.

Kakashi shook his head, offering his oldest friend a half smile. “Your concern is unnecessary,” he informed him. “There are some people whose blood I don’t mind dirtying my hands with.” 

It was true. Kakashi didn’t exactly take joy in killing, however, there were some kills he appreciated more than others. Kabuto made the list. 

Of course, Kabuto wasn’t actually dead. Yet.

“Hn.” Itachi acknowledged his friend’s statement with a single nod. He tightened his grip on Kakashi’s wrist as he inquired, “How well did this ‘Kabuto’ know…Baki, was it?” 

“Mm,” Kakashi confirmed, squinting as he thought about it. “Not well, I don’t think. He seemed quite young. He can’t have been more than a child when I killed…’Baki’.”

“So obviously he wasn’t involved when Baki took Naruto,” Itachi stated.

“Nope.”

Itachi frowned. “But he was after Naruto?” 

“No clue.”

“Kakashi,” his friend hailed, pulling him to a stop, and forcing Kakashi to face him. “Then why?”

Kakashi let out a breath. “Kabuto approached Sasuke and Neji at school and decided to make it clear he knew Neji’s family name. Sasuke sent Neji to get me.” His face twisted with renewed rage as he thought back to the scene he’d witnessed upon arriving at the school. “I saw him talking to Naruto when I got there.” And that had been enough for Kakashi. Kabuto was connected to Baki, however distantly and he had gotten _far_ too close.

“Ah,” Itachi replied with an easy acceptance of the explanation. “I see.” He cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing in thought. “And apparently he spoke to Sasuke as well?” At Kakashi’s nod, his face twisted into a dark scowl that rivaled Kakashi’s own. “You should have finished him.”

“I would have,” Kakashi assured. “But we need to find out if he’s given up our location to his master, whoever that is.” He frowned. “And even if Kabuto hasn’t gotten around to it, it won’t be long before his absence is noticed.”

“And whoever Kabuto’s ‘master’ is will either send someone else to investigate or come looking himself,” Itachi finished the grim thought. He let out a long sigh. “Fine. So, we’ll get you cleaned up and we’ll go back and see how Inoichi’s faring. You left without debriefing him, you know.” He smirked, shoving Kakashi to start him walking again.

Kakashi snorted. “You’ll be reprimanded for that, you know.” They both would.

Itachi rolled his eyes. “Oh? I’m absolutely _terrified_ , I’m sure,” he deadpanned. He shook his head. “Whatever is coming to me, I’m sure you’ll face worse. You really didn’t hold back, did you? Danzo will try to have you declared unfit for your duties as a shinobi if you can’t stop letting your emotions take over. Mark my words.”

The white-haired man laughed. He shook Itachi’s grip off his wrist and slung an arm over his shoulders. “Danzo can do what he wants with me as long as he waits until tomorrow. I need a stiff drink.”

“Mm,” Itachi agreed. “And we’ll have one. We’ll join Kimimaro and Guy as soon as we find out what Kabuto knew. They’re waiting for us. I left them to come get you. There’s a celebration tonight, or haven’t you heard?”

“You may have mentioned it a few hundred times. Today.”

Itachi grinned. “Well. It _is_ my favorite night of the year.” Lucky for Kakashi, all of the Kage agreed with his friend. His impending punishment would likely keep until the following morning, at least.

“ _Really_?” Kakashi said, his voice lilting up as he put on an air of surprise. “Your favorite? I had no idea.”

Itachi slipped out a leg to trip the older man. He might have been the only one in their clan outside of the four Kage quick and subtle enough to execute the move on Kakashi with any amount of success.

“Oi!” Kakashi griped, but didn’t step away, pulling Itachi closer to his side. “None of that. I could be injured, Itachi. Tyrant.”

Itachi snorted, rolling his eyes at the blatant lie. “Hurry up,” he commanded, elbowing Kakashi in his side. “I don’t want to miss the celebration if I don’t have to.”

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” Kakashi informed the younger man with a smirk. “I can handle it on my own. I told you, I’m fine.”

“Tch,” Itachi replied with a put-upon frown. “Who says it has anything to do with _you_ , senpai? Perhaps I just want to see this ‘Kabuto’ breathe his last breath.”

He said it like a joke, but Kakashi knew the man well enough to know better, understood his meaning without having to ask. 

“You’re kind of a dark person,” Kakashi informed the man lightly. “Has anyone ever told you that?”

“No one I let live,” Itachi snarled back, baring his teeth as he deepened his voice and looking up at Kakashi through dangerous, narrowed eyes.

The two men regarded one another seriously for a few tense moments before losing their composure and cracking up into fits of childish giggles. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto crept along the side of a massive blue house, staying low in effort to keep out of sight. He was an accomplished ninja, but didn’t mind admitting he wasn’t the stealthiest, a fact Kakashi never ceased in mourning. 

At the sound of voices from an overhead window, Naruto pressed as close to the building as he could manage, doing his best to slow his breathing and conceal his chakra the way his brother taught him. He could do this. Of all the missions he’d received so far, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that he was _particularly_ invested in this one, the fact that it wasn’t exactly an ‘official’ mission handed down by the council notwithstanding. 

There was laughter coming from nearby, unfortunately outside of the house and getting closer to Naruto’s location with each passing second. Naruto closed his eyes, wishing he’d been able to learn Kakashi’s Transparent Escape technique when the man had tried to teach him. Ninjutsu like that required a certain amount of subtlety, and Naruto was many things but ‘subtle’ was not one of them. He’d never been able to manage it.

It was only luck that kept him from being discovered. The laughing voices came and went, never any wiser that Naruto was about to break into the house in front of him, intent on getting what he came for. 

Making his way to the side of the house, he sought out the balcony that would be his in. He grinned as he noted the door above was open, and with one final cursory glance at his surroundings to make certain he wasn’t being observed, Naruto jumped, using his chakra to propel him up to the second floor balcony. He landed on the railing with perfect balance.

_Yes!_ , he thought, inwardly doing a victory dance. He was halfway there.

Making sure to keep his steps silent, he dropped down from the railing, ears straining for the tell-tale noises of anyone that might be in the room beyond the door. Hearing nothing, he began to advance through.

And ran face first into the person that was exiting at the same time. His eyes clenched shut in pain as his forehead collided with another, preventing him from seeing the person that had injured him by existing.

Well. Perhaps it hadn’t been the smartest idea to only use his ears to scope out the room. _Most_ ninja were capable of eliminating all of the sound in their movements.

“ _Ow_ , damn it!” Naruto complained, rubbing his head. He’d have a knot there soon. “That hurt, you know!” he snapped at whoever had run into him.

“It’s your own fault, dobe. You should take better care to _watch where you’re going_.”

“Sasuke?” Naruto said with surprise, peeking his eyes open to squint at him. “What are you doing here?”

Sasuke’s face fell flat, his disbelief evident. “You’re joking, right?” Seeing that Naruto wasn’t, he rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful. “Moron,” he spat, apparently deeply disgusted by the blonde’s stupidity. “You know why I’m here.”

“Do I?” Naruto asked, scrunching one eye and looking at Sasuke through the other as he scratched the top of his head. He thought the matter over and came up blank.

“ _Idiot,_ ” Sasuke reiterated, shaking his head. 

“Yeah?” Naruto snapped, fed up with the name calling. “Well, you’re an asshole,” he shot back. He moved to step around Sasuke.

He was rendered momentarily speechless when Sasuke – his very first friend who had done nothing but avoid any contact whatsoever with him for three years running – took a step to his right to bar Naruto’s path.

Naruto could do nothing but gape at the youngest Uchiha, his mouth opening and closing on words that wouldn’t come.

“You really have no idea?” Sasuke said, eyes widening with awe, and if Naruto didn’t know any better, a touch of hurt too.

But he did know better. Sasuke didn’t do ‘hurt’. He never had.

Naruto searched for a response but came up empty handed. At least at the moment, he had to concede Sasuke might have a point with all the ‘idiots’ and ‘morons’ he was throwing around.

Sasuke let out a sigh, dropping his gaze to the ground as he reached down and pulled out a small pouch from one of his utility pockets, normally reserved for his kunai. “I’m here for the same reason you are,” he said. “To steal some of Mito-sama’s famous mochi.”

Naruto’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. While it was true that Sasuke used to tag along on this annual endeavor back when they were still friends, as far as Naruto was aware, he’d only ever done so for lack of anything better to do and because Naruto himself had insisted. The dark-haired boy didn’t even _like_ mochi. Sasuke didn’t like sweets, in general.

“I…but…” Naruto squeaked, before growing fed up with himself and pulling it together. “You don’t even _like_ mochi,” he exploded giving voice to the only thought he could currently grasp. 

Sasuke scowled and, because the world had obviously tipped upside down and started spinning backwards, his cheeks began to pink with the start of a blush.

What. The. Hell?

“Sasuke,” he whispered, shaking his head to clear it. He had to be hallucinating. Or dreaming? Yes, that was it. The whole scene was remarkably similar to a few of the dreams Naruto could remember having about his friend.

“I…well…it’s…” Sasuke stuttered in a way Naruto hadn’t seen him do since… well, ever. “I was in the mood for it, okay? I don’t _hate_ mochi,” Sasuke said, finally putting together a complete sentence.

Except… “Yes, you do,” Naruto replied, but his voice sounded distant to even his own ears. 

Sasuke’s entire face scrunched as he sulked at being caught out.

Naruto was powerless against the grin that bloomed across his own. “Sasuke,” he said again on a breath that seemed pulled from him against his will

“Whatever,” Sasuke snapped, annoyed. “I come every year. It was like a…tradition or something. I got used to it. Don’t read anything into it.” He shoved the package into Naruto’s chest. “Take it.”

“Whah?”

“I said, ‘take it’,” Sasuke repeated, drawing out the words like he was speaking to someone particularly slow of mind. “I have no use for it.”

All the air in Naruto’s lungs was expelled yet again and Naruto realized he’d been inhaling and holding his breath without meaning to. “Sasuke,” he repeated once more, apparently a man of very few words all the sudden.

Fed up with waiting, Sasuke grabbed Naruto at the wrist and pulled his hand up to place the treats in his palm. Without waiting for further response, he turned his back to climb the railing of the balcony.

“Sasuke, wait!” Naruto blurted, rushing forward. 

Sasuke tensed, freezing in place, but not looking back.

And Naruto considered countless moments all at once, every time he’d tried before to strike up a conversation to resolve whatever issues existed between the two of them and gotten shot down every time. A hundred different failed tactics executed a thousand different ways and not a single one of them successful and in a moment of uncharacteristic cowardice, he lost his nerve.

“I just…” Naruto said, chest heaving with effort, though he’d barely moved a step. “I mean, I…” he sighed, resigned to the very disappointing fact that he didn’t have a clue what to say. “Thanks,” he settled on lamely, crestfallen at having to let the moment pass.

Sasuke remained still and silent for another few moments before hopping over the railing and down to the ground without ever looking back. 

Naruto supposed he should probably be discouraged by that, but he couldn’t be. It wasn’t much, but it was by far the most pleasant interaction he’d shared with his old friend in ages. 

He stared after Sasuke until he could no longer see him anymore, a renewed hope blooming right in the center of his chest. 

“Who’s there?” Naruto heard Mito-sama call from inside the house as she made her way to the balcony. He’d almost been caught by the old woman plenty of times over the years, but he’d always run away before she could catch him. 

Just then, he couldn’t find it in himself to move.

“Naruto?” she asked, when she stepped out onto the balcony next to him. “What are -,” she broke off as she took him in, her black reanimated eyes widening. “It’s _you_ that’s been stealing my mochi every year,” she said, full of revelation at solving the old mystery.

“Sorry, Mito-sama,” he whispered blandly still staring at the empty spot where he’d last seen Sasuke. 

“Hey,” she said, grasping his chin and turning him to face her. “What’s wrong, Naruto-kun? Are you alright?”

“I…yes,” he said, though he wasn’t entirely sure. He offered up the mochi Sasuke had given him. “Sorry,” he repeated. “I won’t do it again.”

Mito-sama frowned, pulling him into her chest. “Hush now,” she said as she embraced him. “You never needed to steal it, you know? We Uzumaki Jinchuriki have to stick together.” She pulled back just a bit to offer him a smile, soft and fond. “Come. Let’s go get you some more.”

“Yeah?” Naruto asked surprised. He wasn’t quite sure what a jinchuriki was, but he was a bit distracted at the prospect of getting even more of the woman’s sweet treats than he was used to this year. 

“Hai,” she said with a single nod as she turned, pulling Naruto in close to her side as she guided him into the house. “I find mochi comforts me when I’m down,” she went on. “You look like you could use a touch of comfort.”

Naruto wasn’t about to argue. 

Upon reaching the kitchen, Mito-sama gifted him with an entire tray of mochi, securing her spot at Naruto’s favorite woman in any dimension for the rest of eternity. He’d swear on it. Naruto quickly muttered a blessing and began stuffing his face. 

“Whaf uh binburki?” he asked her, mouth full of sweet treats.

Mito-sama smacked him upside the head for the rudeness and Naruto had the decency to blush at his bad behavior. 

Mito-sama’s smile was both fond and stern at once. “A jinchuriki?” she clarified.

Naruto nodded. “Mm.”

Mito was visibly flabbergasted, mouth dropping open just a bit, “You don’t know what a jinchuriki is, child?” At the shake of Naruto’s head, she flinched back, but her eyes narrowed, her displeasure plain to see. “Well then. I’ll be having a _chat_ with that father of yours very soon. It won’t be a pleasant one, I’m afraid.”

Naruto only grinned serenely. 

He’d never had much contact with Mito-sama. She lived in Senju House and rarely stepped out to show her face outside of special occasions. Naruto often forgot she was Uzumaki at all, despite her bright red hair that apparently hadn’t turned with age. She was older than the other reanimations, or rather, she appeared to be so, all of their appearances frozen the way they were when they died. Mito-sama wasn’t older, precisely. She’d simply been _alive_ longest. In spite of looks, Naruto was actually pretty sure she was younger than both Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama, if he was remembering his history right.

She was Shodaime Hokage-sama’s wife, but Naruto had always wondered why she’d been reanimated with him and the others. It wasn’t like they’d had Orochimaru reanimate just _anyone_ and certainly the Edo Tensei hadn’t been used for sentimental purposes. They’d all been brought back for a specific reason, but Naruto didn’t know what that reason was with regard to Mito-sama and had never known how to ask. It seemed like a rude question when he thought about it.

He didn’t know much about her. Naruto had actually gone out of his way to avoid knowing her, in fact. She seemed a strange mix of fiery dispassion, somehow both stern and soft at once, and with her black eyes, she’d always kind of given him the creeps, if he was being honest. They were a tight knit clan, Konohagakure, but Naruto had to confess he’d never willingly spent more than two seconds in Mito’s presence before. 

He did know, however, that if there was a woman left in their clan who could affect change in his dad, it would be Mito-sama. Naruto and Sasuke had once witnessed her forcing the Nidaime Hokage to cower in actual terror when the man forgot himself and spoke to her in a way that one should _never_ speak to a lady, if Mito were to be believed. It was a sight to be seen, that was for sure. She’d have no trouble whipping his old man into shape, Naruto was certain of it.

He watched the strange woman with no small amount of fascination as she busied herself with getting some tea from the kitchen. With practiced efficiency, she arranged glasses and a pitcher on a tray and carried it over to Naruto, seating herself on the floor next to him.

“Well, Naruto,” she said. Her voice seemed to carry from one word to another in a singular murmured hum. She offered him a warm smile that and Naruto thought perhaps the black of her eyes wasn’t so terribly creepy after. “First off, _you_ are a jinchuriki. Hosting the Kyuubi makes you such.”

Naruto remembered to swallow this time before opening his mouth to speak. “Me?” he said. “I’m a jinchuriki?”

“Hai,” she told him. “The most recent one after your mother before you. And I was the first.”

He could only stare at the old woman, wondering at how it was possible he was only hearing the word for the first time now. It wasn’t like it was a secret he hosted the Kyuubi and it was just a word, after all. Far more surprising was that somehow, Naruto had never known that Mito-sama had ever hosted the Kyuubi, though he supposed that answered the question as to why she was reanimated. It certainly wasn’t something he would have overlooked or forgotten if anyone had mentioned it. Maybe they’d all just assumed he knew? It didn’t make any sense.

“Dad only just started really training me to manage the Kyuubi,” he informed the woman. “He never used that word, but I’ve always known I was the Kyuubi host.”

“Let’s not talk about that father of yours,” Mito-sama said, black eyes flashing. “You’ll incite my temper. A dangerous thing as it hasn’t been unleashed in many decades.”

Naruto gulped, and absolutely did not test the verity of the statement.

Instead, he helped himself to a glass of her tea and asked, “Did you have…episodes, like I do?” 

He knew his dad never did, though he refrained from bringing him up again as instructed. It frustrated him to no end that his dad had so little trouble with the Kyuubi chakra whereas Naruto had been driven so out of control by it, he’d even hurt some of the people most important to him. His father, a man that hardly seemed human anymore most days, was so far out of reach in skill and in control that Naruto couldn’t imagine ever catching up. He faced none of the hatred that Naruto did from their clan. No one feared Minato and Minato didn’t have to worry about the burden of fearing himself. It wasn’t fair.

“Oh, I had… ‘episodes’, to be sure,” she said with an air of amusement, pouring tea into her own glass. “I’m just not sure I can blame the Kyuubi for them.” She let out a chuckle. “That’s the Uzumaki in us, boy,” she confided. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.”

“I’ve hurt people,” Naruto confessed, lowering his voice and his head in shame. “I hurt my brother.”

Mito-sama reached out and grabbed his chin again, lifting his head. “Many of us have hurt people without meaning to, and very few that have can say they’ve shared your burden,” she whispered, looking straight into him, her gaze unyielding. “Keep your head high, boy. You are _Uzumaki_. Don’t let me see it lowered again.”

She was fiercely stern, but Naruto felt not a hint of fear. In fact, he felt warm, cared for. He idly wondered if his mom was anything like this woman. He hoped she was.

“Besides,” Mito-sama went on. “It’s not your fault that twit you have for a father neglected his duties. He ought to have sent you to me if he couldn’t handle it. Kushina would have been _outraged_ , I swear.”

Naruto scooted forward, interested. “You knew my mom, Baachan?”

She shot him a knowing grin, not scolding him for his familiarity. “I did,” she confirmed. “Only for a short while, but I can tell you are quite like her in many ways.”

“I am?”

“Mm,” Mito murmured. “You share her fiery passion and driven dedication. The temper, though…that one is a trait common to all who share the Uzumaki blood.” She laughed. “We’re a loud, hearty clan, loyal to a fault, passionate in our devotions and quick to anger for it. We’re not capable of dismissing our emotions as is the way of the shinobi as they are what drive us. We’re a lot like the Uchiha, in that way I think.”

Naruto sighed, feeling a sudden sense of melancholy take him over. He dropped a half-finished rice cake back down on to the platter, appetite forgotten. “I wish I knew her,” he commented, trying to redirect his thoughts, because it was pathetic for his thoughts to drift toward Sasuke when he was finally getting to hear a bit about his mom.

“I’m sure,” Mito said kindly. “Is that what was on your mind when I found you so sad, stalking my home from my balcony.” 

Naruto frowned, avoiding her knowing gaze. “No,” he mumbled, grabbing his glass to take a drink, hoping she’d drop the matter.

She did not drop it but didn’t press him with words. She narrowed her eyes, nose twitching and Naruto was responding before he could think better of it.

“My best friend isn’t speaking to me,” he told her, the words coming out easier than he expected. “He hasn’t for a long time.”

“Why’s that?” 

Naruto shrugged. “I don’t know.” It was a lie, really, but it was one he’d been telling himself for so long it no longer felt like one. 

“Oh?” she said nothing more, settling in to listen.

Naruto nodded. “He’s an Uchiha,” he informed her. “I don’t think you’re right about them not being able to ignore _their_ emotions, Baachan. I think some of them don’t even _have_ emotions. Sasuke, at least, is a cold hearted _bastard_.” He tensed, spine straightening and eyes widening as he looked up at her, anticipating another swift slap for his rude language.

Mito merely laughed, loud and echoing throughout the house. 

“Well, Naruto,” she said when she sobered. “I hope you don’t have any specific place to be for awhile. There’s a story I’d like to tell you. I think it’ll help you to hear it.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_15 years earlier, after the Kyuubi attack, Konoha_

_Itachi hid behind a pile of rubble as he waited for the rhythmic sound of many footsteps all marching together to fade. He gripped the tiny, bundled mass of his baby brother against his chest, reminding himself not to squeeze too hard. It was a miracle Sasuke hadn’t made a sound yet._

_Almost three months old, Sasuke was normally a fussy baby. Their mother said it was because babies had no other way to communicate and they should all be happy that the newest member of their family was so persistent about getting what he wanted. Itachi wouldn’t mind so much if the sound of Sasuke screaming his discontent wasn’t so shrill, so loud and inescapable. It made it hard for Itachi to think normally, but just now, the baby in his arms was so eerily silent and still that Itachi had worried more than once he might have crushed or suffocated the child for clutching him too close, too tight._

_He kept glancing down to check, to make sure his brother was still breathing, but every time he found Sasuke looking right back at him, eyes wide and strangely alert. It was as if he knew, somehow, that it wasn’t the time to make a sound, though even at five Itachi knew it was silly to imagine such a thing. Sasuke couldn’t know or understand what was happening, of course. Sasuke didn’t understand anything, except perhaps that if he cried someone would feed him or change him, and if he cried long enough, Itachi would always come running, unable to ignore the sound despite their father’s wishes and cautions that Itachi would make Sasuke weak with his coddling._

_There was_ something _there though. Sasuke’s tiny frame seemed to carry a certain amount of tension, like the child was consciously keeping himself still, manageable in Itachi’s arms as he tried to get them both to safety. It was as if his brother could sense it, the weight of responsibility Itachi carried, as if the tension that coiled around him was infecting Sasuke too._

_“Don’t worry,” Itachi whispered to him as if Sasuke could understand. “Your big brother won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”_

_Itachi wondered what fate their father had met. He’d left when a giant fox like monster with nine tails had appeared on the outskirts of the village, leaving Itachi with strict orders to stay put and keep watch on Sasuke._

_The beast had disappeared not long after his father had gone, but Itachi hadn’t been able to ‘stay put’ as instructed. An army of dead men had trickled in and proliferated throughout Uchiha territory, so he’d been forced to run. He’d gone to find his mother._

_Their mother was dead. Itachi no longer had to wonder about her fate. He had raced all the way to the Uzumaki residence to get to her, only to find he was too late. She was already gone._

_Itachi’s eyes burned and he clutched Sasuke closer, tighter against his chest. It was all he could do to avoid crying out in pain. He rubbed his eyes to counter the sting, noting with some surprise that there were no tears there to wipe away, though his eyes burned terribly. Nothing made sense and he didn’t know what to do._

_“Look at this,” said a voice he didn’t recognize and Itachi spun, gripping Sasuke tighter to face a man with eyes as black as night, lips twisted in a cruel expression that was meant to be a smile, but_ wasn’t _, not at all. “I didn’t think it was possible there would be any survivors after the Kyuubi made its way through this area, much less two runts.” The man shrugged, whipping out a blade. The sound of it made Itachi flinch. “Oh well. I suppose that’s what I’m here for.”_

_Itachi didn’t speak. He glanced down at Sasuke and back up at the man making his way closer, slowly as if relishing their fear, the anticipation. Itachi took a breath, shoring his resolve. He shifted, wrapping Sasuke tighter in his blankets before placing him on the ground, tucked close to the rubble he’d been using to hide._

_“Shh,” he said when Sasuke began to fuss. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”_

_The man cackled at the promise. Itachi couldn’t blame him. Shisui had been training him, but they hadn’t managed to get very far. Itachi didn’t know much. Certainly not enough to pose any threat to the man before him._

_It didn’t matter. Itachi would give his life before allowing him to get any closer to Sasuke. He stood to face his adversary, clenching his hands to stop the shaking, determined in spite of his lack of any real strength or skill. He squatted low in an unpracticed fighting stance, his mind racing with everything Shisui or father had ever taught him._

_“I won’t let you hurt my brother,” Itachi informed the man, mostly trying to buy time._

_“You won’t be able to stop me,” the man replied, almost apologetic._

_There was a gust of wind and another man appeared in front of Itachi. He almost attacked, muscles coiling in his legs to fling himself at the newcomer who was far too close for comfort, but managed to keep his position at the last second, noting the presence of the Leaf on the man’s head protector._

_And he wasn’t truly a man, Itachi noted upon further inspection. It was a boy, really, despite the fact that he had hair as white as snow. He was clearly older than Itachi, almost double his height, but he couldn’t have been much older than Shisui. He wasn’t any bigger, at least. He was a ninja, though, and one of Konoha’s and Itachi felt the tiniest spark of hope ignite within him as he took in the sight of him._

_He carried a bundle in his arms that Itachi recognized instantly for having carried a similar one himself all night._

_The boy stepped closer to Itachi, apparently unconcerned about the man behind him and pressed the small bundle forward. “Take him,” he commanded, his voice sounding far older than he looked, low and so very serious._

_Itachi took the proffered bundle and stepped back, moving closer to Sasuke again, knowing he’d be more of a burden than a help to the real, fully trained shinobi in front of him. He placed the second child – this one fast asleep – on the ground next to Sasuke and turned his attention back to the two nin facing off against one another. He hoped this boy knew what he was doing. He seemed to._

_And he did. Itachi watched enthralled as the young boy made quick work of the man that had accosted him. The two battling shinobi moved faster than seemed possible but somehow, Itachi had no trouble tracking the progression of the fight at all._

_The older man was just a bit faster and Itachi felt his heart stutter in his chest as his only hope of getting Sasuke out of danger was stabbed through the chest, but before he had a chance to do anything the scene shifted and the man found his sword buried in nothing more than a large chunk of wood, broken and frayed at the edges, a piece of rubble somehow taking up the space where the boy had been only a second before._

_Itachi watched as the man’s eyes widened as he dropped his sword, but he was given no more time to react further than that. There was an abrupt flash of light along with the strangest sound of many birds chirping all at once before a gaping hole appeared at the center of the man’s chest along with a hand that seemed to be lit by lightning itself._

_The white-haired boy retracted his hand, the man he’d just killed crumpling to the ground at his feet. He stood staring at the body for a moment as the lightning in his hand faded._

_Job done, he returned to Itachi, scooping up the sleeping child. Itachi followed suit and pulled Sasuke back into his arms now that the danger had passed._

_“Who are you,” Itachi inquired, looking at the boy. His eyes widened as he took in the boy’s face up close. “You have the Sharingan.”_

_The boy met his gaze. Itachi noted an arched brow, but otherwise couldn’t see his expression for the mask that covered most of his face._

_“So, do you,” the boy pointed out, nodding._

_Itachi frowned. “No, I don’t,” he said, his free hand moving to wipe at his burning eyes again without thinking about it. “I’m only five.”_

_“That doesn’t matter,” the boy said, his tone empty, deadened. “Come on,” he continued, standing up straight. “We can’t stay out in the open.”_

_Itachi followed. The boy had a voice and eyes so dead he almost didn’t seem human, but Itachi could only trust him. He was an Uchiha, after all. Only members of his clan capable of awakening the Sharingan. He could trust someone from his clan, no matter how empty he seemed._

_“What’s your name?” Itachi asked again as he followed behind the boy. “I’ve never seen you before. I’ve never seen hair like that in our clan at all.”_

_“I’m not part of your clan,” the boy replied evenly. “I’m Hatake Kakashi.”_

_“But you have the Sharingan,” Itachi pointed out, slowing his steps and then halting entirely when he put the pieces together. “You_ stole _it.”_

_Kakashi turned back to face him, his seemingly dead features twisting to life, even if it was with anger. “I didn’t steal it. It was given to me,” Kakashi corrected in a harsh, raised whisper. “A gift from Uchiha Obito before he died.”_

_“Obito-san?” Itachi parroted. He knew the name, if not the person. Their entire clan had mourned when the young boy had died a year before. “You knew him?”_

_“Hm,” Kakashi grunted, turning back to continue to lead the way forward. “He was my teammate and my friend.”_

_Itachi continued to follow the strange boy, not without a small amount of hesitation, though somewhat mollified to know the boy was friends with someone who had been clan, even if Itachi never knew Obito himself._

_“You’re leading us the wrong way,” he noted. “I have to keep my brother safe. We can’t go back this way, it’s not safe. You’re taking us back toward the fighting.”_

_“I know what I’m doing,” Kakashi replied. “If you think you know better, no one is forcing you to follow me.”_

_“I need your help,” Itachi said, not ashamed to admit it. “I don’t know how to do anything yet, and I can’t let Sasuke get hurt.” He swallowed on a lump forming in his throat as he continued. “My mom is dead and so is her friend, Kushina-san. I need to find my father or someone from my clan.”_

_Kakashi halted, turning again to face him. “Kushina-san was your mother’s friend?”_

_“Hai.”_

_Kakashi sighed and all at once, his features lost the deadened look they had. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, he seemed softer suddenly, somehow kinder. “What’s your name?”_

_“Uchiha Itachi,” he replied. “My father is the leader of the Uchiha clan_ and _Konoha’s police.”_

_“Itachi,” Kakashi repeated as he nodded his understanding. He stepped closer and kneeled so as to get on eye level with the younger boy. He shifted the bundle in his arms, pulling back the blankets to reveal the sleeping baby within them. “This is Naruto.”_

_“…Okay,” Itachi replied, certain it wasn’t the time or place for introductions._

_“It’s my job to protect him, like it’s your job to protect your brother,” Kakashi explained patiently. “You’re smart not to trust someone you don’t know, but maybe you can trust that I won’t let anything happen to Naruto?”_

_Itachi contemplated it, studying Kakashi’s eyes, wishing he could see more of his face as if that would give him some insight as to whether the boy was telling the truth. He seemed like he was but…“But the fighting is happening that way,” he repeated, looking past Kakashi at the flashes of light and shadow that danced in the distance, plain indications of the ninja they would find battling it out that way._

_“I know,” Kakashi replied with a single nod. “I can handle it if you promise to look after Naruto for me if we run into anyone.” His eyes crinkled. “In return, I’ll look out for you and your brother.”_

_Itachi looked at Naruto and then down at Sasuke, still staring up at him, quietly and intent. “I can’t carry them both,” he pointed out. He was strained with just having borne Sasuke’s weight most of the night._

_“That’s okay,” Kakashi insisted, waving as if the information was inconsequential. “If we happen upon enemies, I’ll just set him down near you and you can look after him.”_

_Itachi frowned. “I can’t do anything yet,” he repeated, mournfully as he wondered what help he could be to a boy that could hold lightning in his hand. “Shisui has been training me, but…not a lot. I don’t know anything yet.”_

_“Mah,” Kakashi said and his eyes crinkled with a masked smile. “I bet you can do more than you think now.” He reached out to lay a hand on Itachi’s shoulder. “Just keep your eyes sharp and watch me. Your Sharingan are good for more than just genjutsu, you know. I’ve copied more jutsu with mine in the last year than a lot of shinobi learn in a lifetime. And I only have_ one _.”_

_“Yeah?” Itachi asked, feeling buoyed. “You can do that?”_

_Kakashi nodded, standing back up. “We’ll protect them both together,” he said. “You ready?”_

_Itachi straightened his shoulders with determination, firmed his jaw, and clutched Sasuke close to his chest. “Hai.”_

_Kakashi inclined his head just once more, eyes lit with approval. “Let’s go.”_

_So, they went._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I somehow managed to write close to thirty thousand words for this chapter, which is obviously unacceptable in my opinion so I tried to find a decent place to...cut it in half. The flashback scene here is one I wrote and ultimately cut and put aside, not sure if I was going to use it, but here it is. Meh. 
> 
> Next up, we'll spend way too much time on this made up holiday. I think there's some more stuff about Kabuto and where he came from and about Kakashi's consequences too, but mostly it's holiday stuff, kay? Oh! And maybe like a tiny bit of Naruto/Sasuke development. You know. Stuff. Don't quote me, though. Bah. I suck at this.
> 
> It's probably pretty safe to just ignore any and all author's notes attached to this fic. Except...
> 
> Thanks for reading! All my love to those who are along for this ride.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Still unbetaed. 
> 
> I still love everyone that reads. Here's another chapter chock full-o-nonsense for y'all.

Chapter 4

The night was full of sound and all lit up with lanterns. There was laughter and dancing. There were shows put on with nothing but light and shadows and the sound of Shodaime-sama’s exaggerated overdramatic tones. There were songs bellowed out with either great cheer or deep melancholy, but never very much talent. There was heavy drinking and boisterous shouting and a general sense of good will all around.

Loath as he was to admit it, Sasuke didn’t _hate_ Konohagakure’s Day of Resolve. 

As soon as the sun had set, Konoha’s very own Yellow Flash lit the lanterns, as he always did every year, but it never seemed to get old to watch it. Sasuke had been fascinated and drawn in by skill from a young age, and Naruto’s dad’s skill with the Flying Raijinn was enough to make even Nidaime-sama pay attention. Yondaime-sama would probably spend the rest of the night drunk in a dark corner on his own, but he lit the lanterns every year.

Most everything was pretty much the same each year and it should have gotten old. It just…never seemed to. The air around Sasuke seemed inundated with warmth that even he was not immune to. The mood of the night was always infectious for him. It was an odd thing; a fierce, almost defiant cheer filled his family and his comrades as if they’d made a pact not to let sadness prevail this night they remembered the sacrifices of their clans and their families. It wasn’t a feeling that ever got old, even if Sasuke could recite every one of Shodaime-sama’s stories from memory.

Besides, not all of it was old news. Early in the night, Guy-sensei had fed his own son just a sip of sake and the two had demonstrated a loose limbed, senseless yet somehow still insanely precise sort of fighting style Sasuke had never seen before. It was so mindless in it’s execution that even with his Sharingan, he hadn’t been able to track a pattern to try and predict their movements. The sight was fascinating, if eternally frustrating for lack of being able to see the trick of it. 

Later the Hyuga’s would dance until they lit the night with colorful, vibrant chakra, and Hanabi-san might sing. Kakashi and Itachi would put on a show at some point or another, an irresponsibly drunken sparring match between two of Konoha’s prodigies while Jiraiya and Tsunade made increasingly unrealistic bets, cheering and howling raucously. 

They would end the night in silence, gathered around a single massive fire. They’d take slips of paper that had their most persistent affirmations written upon them and toss them in to the flames. 

Everyone was present. Not even Naruto’s dad avoided the celebration, even if he avoided interacting with anyone else while he was there. They all attended. Everyone participated. Even Sasuke would join his own father and brother to show their comrades the shurikenjutsu of the Uchiha, and they’d make music with the metallic clashing of their shuriken and kunai. 

Only the Aburame’s didn’t join in and that was because they held the perimeter of the festivities. One only needed to glance outward past their outer walls to see the particular skill of the once great Aburame clan. Their art wasn’t one that was quite so fun to look at, but was probably the most appreciated for its usefulness.

Even his run in with Naruto wasn’t enough to completely sour Sasuke’s mood, though it had been a near thing. He’d lost the shogi tournament in the first round he was so distracted, but then, no one but Nara ever won anyway. 

“Sasuke!” 

Sasuke cringed.

“Did you see me, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura asked as she plopped down on the grass next to him. “I’ve been practicing.”

Sasuke hadn’t seen her but he didn’t say so. He didn’t say anything. It wasn’t a night for rudeness and he wasn’t sure what else he could muster in response to a girl that seemed to make it her life’s purpose to annoy him endlessly.

He shrugged. He may as well have hugged the girl for how she beamed back at him in response.

“Thanks. You looked great out there, too!” 

Sasuke idly mused that he hadn’t told her that _she_ looked great for her to thank him or say he did as well, but again, he didn’t voice his thoughts. He was being _nice_. It was an unwritten rule for the night.

“Are you hungry?” Sakura went on. “Maybe we could go get some of-,”

“I’m meeting Itachi, actually,” Sasuke interrupted. It was true and it wasn’t rude. He felt accomplished. “I do every year.”

“Right,” Sakura said, crestfallen but to her credit, trying to hide it. “You guys exchange gifts. I forgot.”

“Hn.” They did _not_ exchange gifts. Itachi insisted on getting Sasuke a gift, yes, because he was a sentimental idiot. Sasuke did not participate in his madness.

“Maybe we could take a walk later? Afterwards?” she offered tentatively, unable to meet his eyes anymore. “It would be nice to spend some time with you, Sasuke.”

Sasuke clenched his jaw, biting back the instinctive response on the tip of his tongue that he got his fill of ‘spending time’ with the pink-haired girl just having her live in the same household. 

“I don’t think so,” he said instead, reasoning that it wasn’t precisely rude to say no. Even if it visibly hurt the girl’s feelings. 

“Sasuke…” Sakura started, whispering. 

He sighed and stood. “Sakura,” he returned shaking his head. “It was a good show.”

Sasuke turned and walked away. A shame really because he’d wanted to keep his seat for a bit longer to see a few more of his favorite sights, but it wasn’t worth it to stay. He _was_ actually hungry anyway. He’d find his way to some food and find something else to do until he had to meet his brother.

Sasuke was dreading having to do that and not just because he hated the way his elder brother liked to make a sentimental scene every year on the Day of Resolve. Naruto would be there too, with Kakashi-sense because this tradition didn’t _just_ belong to Sasuke and Itachi.

If he tried to skip it, he would only be hunted down by his brother and his sensei. And by Naruto. And unfortunately, Itachi seemed to have a sixth sense for Sasuke’s location so trying to run away was pointless in the first place. He could put it off for a bit though.

“Ah, there you are, Sasuke. I had a feeling you might try to avoid me tonight.”

Sometimes, Sasuke was convinced that his brother had set some kind of forbidden jutsu on him from a young age that allowed the older man to read his mind. 

“Itachi,” Sasuke all but groaned. “I was going to find you later. I’m hungry right now.”

“That’s why I brought you this,” Itachi countered, flourishing a plate he had hidden behind his back. “I’m always prepared.”

Sasuke arched a brow at the proffered sobe. It was exactly what he’d been on the way to get, much as he hated to admit it. “You know that’s creepy, right?”

“Creepy?” Itachi parroted appearing to think it over, only to decide he didn’t care and shrug. “It’s not my fault you’re so predictable, Sasuke. You should work on that.” His expression turned stern and he deepened his voice. “It’s unbecoming of a young shinobi.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and snatched the plate. He lowered himself to the grass right where he stood, not at all surprised when Itachi parked himself right next to him. His brother reached out to grab a couple of his soba noodles with his bare fingers so Sasuke stabbed his hand with his chopsticks.

“Heathen. You spend too much time with Kakashi-sensei,” he criticized. “It’s bad for your mental state. I don’t understand _why_ anyone thinks either of you are the Great Sage’s prophecy child.”

Itachi snorted. “Tell that to my Susano’o.”

Sasuke hated that there was really no way to dispute that.

Itachi raised his arms above his head, sighing in contentment for no apparent reason at all. “Anyway, Otouto, no one really thinks it’s me anymore,” he commented lightly. “Neither Kakashi or me are children any longer. Most everyone believes it’ll be you or Neji now.”

“Not Naruto?” Sasuke asked, his surprise at the missing name sweeping aside his general reluctance to touch the usually avoided topic. 

It was a shock. For all of Naruto’s general idiocy, Sasuke often thought that made his natural talent that much more noteworthy. Gaara was powerful, yes, but without his sand and the power of the Ichibi that the red-head couldn’t even consciously control, he didn’t have much in the way of skill. Not with taijutsu, or ninjutsu, or strategy or stealth. His ultimate defense was indisputable, but his overall skill as a shinobi left something to be desired if Sasuke were to give his two cents. 

Naruto was another story. The Kyuubi offered him more chakra than he could ever want and it sped his healing, but it did not account for Naruto’s skill in battle. Sasuke would never understand how someone so remarkably slow witted was such a quick thinker in the heat of combat, but that was Naruto’s way. He was unpredictable, vicious, and effective. 

They were no longer friends, much less _close_ but it was one thing Sasuke still didn’t mind admitting to anyone that would bother asking – he’d trust Naruto to be on his right in any skirmish, no matter the stakes. Naruto was not his friend, but he would always be his rival. Sasuke wouldn’t bet on anyone but himself to win against the blond. 

“Not Naruto,” Itachi confirmed and shrugged. “Not for lack of talent, though. You know how it is. Jiraiya thinks it could be him, though.”

Sasuke wasn’t sure that was exactly a ringing endorsement. “It seems like Jiraiya has considered everyone at one point or another. First Naruto’s dad, and then Kakashi-sensei, or Kimimaro, or _you_ ,” he pointed out. “Ever think he might be a bit…you know, not quite _all there_? He let’s Naruto call him _Ero Sennin_. Probably shouldn’t take a man like that seriously.”

Itachi chuckled softly, eyes upward on the starlit sky. “He _likes_ that Naruto calls him that. He wouldn’t have written those ridiculous books your sensei loves so much if he minded being called such things. I’d wager a bet he takes it as a compliment.”

Sasuke paused mid-chew. “What?” He gaped with a shameful lack of decorum. “Jiraiya-sama, the Great Toad Sage, wrote _Icha Icha_ , Itachi?”

Itachi narrowed his dark eyes. “Have you _read_ the Icha Icha books, little brother?”

Sasuke let out an obvious cough. “Er. No.”

Itachi’s narrowed eyes widened minutely. “ _When?_ ” he snapped.

Sasuke was stunned into laughing. “When did _you_ read them, Niisan?” he returned, gleeful at being able to irritate his brother for once. Itachi would never accept that Sasuke had _not_ actually discontinued growing older past age eight. Normally that fact was the source of great annoyance for Sasuke so it was nice to turn it around on his brother. “I wonder if I was younger than you were,” he went on, smirking. “I bet I was. But I’m fifteen now, you moron. There’s no point in getting upset about it at this point.” 

_Icha Icha_ wasn’t _that_ bad, after all. It wasn’t even close to the most inappropriate thing Sasuke had ever been exposed to. He almost wanted to share that with his brother, just to watch him lose his head about it.

“Moron?” Itachi pouted dramatically. “Remember when you used to think I was the best shinobi on the face of the planet? You used to shout about it. At strangers.”

Sasuke still believed that. Privately. 

He rolled his eyes at his brother and shook his head. “I was _eight_ ,” he defended with an easy shrug. “I’ve learned.”

Itachi cuffed the back of his head. “Can’t believe you read _Icha Icha_ and didn’t tell me.”

Sasuke snorted, but there was little weight in his brother’s words, the man clearly no longer bothered so Sasuke changed his own tune. “I can’t think of a single reason why I’d ever want to tell you something like that,” he offered grimly honest. “I was only able to stomach a bit anyway. They’re…gross.”

Itachi brightened again. “Yes. Sex is gross. I’m strangely okay with you thinking so.”

Sasuke ducked his head to take a bite of his soba, happy his hair was long enough to cover his ears and hide the flush. “I didn’t say I think sex is disgusting,” he commented, forcing his tone light and pointed, refusing to acknowledge his embarrassment and let Itachi win. “I think those books are pointlessly sappy and overwrought with the sickening sort of sweetness that only empty minded imbeciles can enjoy.”

“Oi,” Itachi shouted, twisting his body to face Sasuke fully, his entire posture suddenly defensive. “ _I_ like those books, you brat.” His eyes went wide. “And how do you know enough about sex to know it’s not disgusting? You never said anything to me,” Itachi accused, almost looking genuinely hurt somewhere in the midst of all his playful cheer.

A laugh broke out of Sasuke against his will, but he didn’t mind. He shook his head at his brother. “I forget you never had to deal with going to high school,” he mused aloud. “There’s a lot more than arithmetic to see and learn there.” Sasuke smirked, arcing his brows suggestively, downright merry at the squawk his brother let out before he began choking on nothing at all.

Sasuke chuckled softly, feeling fond of his so called genius of an elder brother. “Don’t be an idiot, Niisan. What were _you_ doing when you were fifteen?”

Itachi looked somewhat sick. “ _Sasuke_ ,” he gasped like a scandalized old woman. 

Sasuke cackled. “You’re revealing quite a lot about what a deviant you were when you were my age,” he pointed out, placing his plate on the grass beside him. He was laughing to hard to eat now. 

Itachi raised a finger to Sasuke’s forehead. “No one ever said you should be looking to _me_ as a role model,” he reasoned, glaring at the younger boy. “That’s a terrible idea, otouto.”

Sasuke grunted in easy acceptance, batting his brother’s hand away. “Kakashi-sensei, then,” he suggested as if to compromise.

Itachi grimaced. “Well, _no_. That’s an even worse idea. Can’t you look up to Shodaime-sama like I do?”

“Didn’t you just say I shouldn’t use what you do as an example?” Sasuke asked with feigned confusion. “Make up your mind, niisan, I can’t follow your logic.”

“That is it,” Itachi growled. He stood and began dusting himself free of debris that wasn’t there. “I don’t care who you choose,” he determined, throwing his shoulders up in an easy shrug to back up the statement. “But I forbid you to end up like me.” He frowned. “Or Kakashi. Hatake is also completely off-limits.” 

Sasuke picked up his plate, and grabbed whatever part of his brother he could reach to pull himself to his feet. It ended up being Itachi’s hand, his brother already reaching out to offer his help.

Sasuke snorted as he found his balance on his feet and the two began walking. “I could do worse than ending up like you. Be grateful I’ll never end up like Danzo. Or Orochimaru.”

“That’s a pretty low bar, Sasuke.”

Sasuke laughed but couldn’t disagree so changed the topic just slightly. It was a silly one anyway, all things considered. They both knew Sasuke had always chased after Itachi, mimicking him at first, and trying to surpass him as he got older. And they both knew he always would. It was senseless to argue about it, even playfully. 

“I’ll never be able to summon Susano’o like you can,” he commented mournfully. 

“It isn’t worth the price you have to pay,” Itachi replied, voice grim and eyes distant. “I’d give it up in a heartbeat to win back what I had to lose to gain Susano’o. You can trust me, otouto. You wouldn’t want it.”

“I do trust you,” Sasuke returned honestly. “I believe you. I just wish you or Father wouldn’t hold so much back,” he admitted. “I’m not a child anymore. I don’t need to be sheltered.”

“Hm,” Itachi hummed distantly. “Perhaps.” He turned a smile on the younger Uchiha. “I’ll tell you another time, otouto.” Sasuke braced himself for Itachi’s head thump, gritting his teeth in irritation.

He groaned. “You _always_ say that,” he mourned, following the familiar routine. 

“Do not,” Itachi argued for the sake of being contrary.

“Do too,” Sasuke muttered back, because it was practically tradition. 

It was a night for traditions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto was enjoying the night quite a bit more than he ever would have guessed he could at the start of it. He’d been pleasantly surprised and cheered by Mito-sama and he’d stayed with her until the two of them caught Ero Sennin trying to sneak out of Tsunade Baachan’s room with an entire crate of sake. Not flinching at all under Mito’s glare, he’d enlisted Naruto to grab a second crate and follow him. Mito released him with an exasperated sigh, grumbling to herself about Tsunade’s awful drinking habits.

Ero Sennin led him as far as the back yard where Naruto found his brother sitting in the grass around a small table with Kimimaro-sensei, Guy-sensei, and Baachan at the start of what was apparently going to be a drinking contest to make legends out of them. 

“I feel it’s only fair to warn you all,” Kimimaro-sensei was saying when Naruto arrived. “My blood limit ability increases my metabolism exponentially over what is considered normal. There’s no way you can win.”

Baachan snorted. “Amateur,” she spat. “I’ve been studying that ability of yours since you joined us. Five hundred says I beat you before the hour is up.”

“That’s my cue,” Ero Sennin informed Naruto before rushing forward to make sure he got to watch Tsunade Baachan retrieve her money. From between her breasts.

Naruto honestly wasn’t sure which one of them was worse. He shook his head at his ridiculous godparents and joined his brother, setting his crate on the ground next to Kakashi and sitting on top of it.

He’d been there ever since and had to admit he was enjoying himself immensely. Kimimaro-sensei had a way of being vicious with so much sweetness in his voice that it was tripping even Baachan up and it was nothing short of amusing to watch. Guy-sensei kept trying fruitlessly to get Kakashi to join their contest to even some sort of score between the two of them that his brother seemed completely unaware of in the first place much to Guy’s disappointment.

Naruto wasn’t drinking. Not just because he was too young. Kakashi probably wouldn’t even care. Kakashi had been the one to give Naruto his first sip of alcohol a couple years back, actually and that experience was precisely how Naruto knew he hated the taste of the stuff. He felt drunk anyway though on far too much laughter and good cheer. 

Shortly after Guy sensei passed out face first on the table, Kakashi hopped to his feet, gesturing for Naruto to join him. Naruto pushed up off the crate he was using for a seat and joined his brother, walking away from the rest of their group at a lazy meandering pace. 

“Where are we going?” Naruto inquired, though he didn’t really care. It wasn’t like he had any place to be.

“Itachi should be back by now,” Kakashi said, glancing around as they came to the front of Senju house. “He can be so rudely unpunctual sometimes.”

Itachi, of course, appeared just in time to show Kakashi he what he thought of that summation, the two of them dissolving into a playful sparring match that was still rowdy enough to draw Baachan, Ero Sennin, and Kimimaro out from the back, as well as a few others that were wandering around nearby.

There was shouting, and cheering, and betting. Even Sasuke joined in and to Naruto’s shock, his old friend wasn’t going out of his way to avoid interacting with Naruto nor was he being unnecessarily disagreeable.

He was still mostly unpleasant to Naruto, but his words were more teasing than vicious and Naruto wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the abrupt change in routine, especially after their encounter earlier in the night. It was hard to decide whether to be grateful or suspicious. 

He opted to ignore it for the moment, deciding to pay attention instead to the fight in front of him after nearly getting in the way of a butterfly kick gone wild after Itachi had expertly dodged it.

The impromptu sparring match only began to wind down when Itachi-sensei let out a sharp, startled cry and an outraged shout. “Biting, Kakashi?!”

“Pull it together, Hatake!” Ero Sennin shouted from the sidelines where they were all gathered to watch and cheer and drink. “You’re a grown man, for the love of all things holy.”

“Whoo!” Baachan shouted with unrestrained enthusiasm. “Pull his hair too, Hatake! Everything goes!”

Ero Sennin arched a brow at her, momentarily distracted from the spectacle of Itachi and his brother. “I worry about you, sometimes, woman. Most times.”

Baachan merely pumped her fist. “Don’t you quit now, Hatake!” she went on, unbothered by the criticism. “I’ve got money riding on you.”

Kakashi took the woman’s advice and pulled Itachi-sensei’s hair.

Sensei didn’t appreciate that at all and in a move Naruto could barely follow, spun about to free himself and landed a painful looking strike to Kakashi’s windpipe at the same time.

“Spoilsport,” Kakashi gasped, dropping to one knee, eyes still raised to keep watch on his opponent.

“Hair pulling, Kakashi?” Itachi-sensei griped. “And _biting_? What’s _wrong_ with you?”

Kakashi forced himself to stand again, eyes shining, but when he spoke, his voice was little more than a breathy rasp. “Gotta give the people what they want,” he defended. 

“Baka,” Itachi scoffed as he set about the task of pulling his hair back and tying it out of his face. 

Kakashi waved him off. “Aw, Don’t worry, _Tenshi_ ,” he teased, with a whispery laugh. “Your precious hair is fine.”

“I will set you on fire in your sleep, Kakashi, I swear.”

Niichan’s eyes widened comically. He cleared his throat once and then twice and then changed the subject as loudly as he could manage. “Presents then?”

“Yes!” Naruto shouted jumping to his feet. “Finally.”

Itachi rolled his eyes. “Couple of overgrown children, the both of you.”

Naruto and Kakashi’s eyes fell closed at once as they both grinned widely. 

Itachi led the way back to Uchiha house, ranting the whole way about the injustices of the universe in sticking him with Kakashi and Naruto, Sasuke chiming in here and there to support his brother in caustic Uchiha solidarity. 

Naruto was probably enjoying the entire moment far more than he should given that he was essentially being verbally bashed by his teacher and erstwhile best friend, the honor of his house and name being systematically picked apart.

He wasn’t sure what to make of Sasuke’s mood. Naruto supposed the unspoken truce wasn’t all that unusual. Sasuke was always more agreeable, more amicable when they were forced to interact within traditions like these that they shared with their brothers. It was just that Naruto had been _certain_ Sasuke had left feeling awkward earlier that day, embarrassed for some unknown reason and those were the type of feelings that always turned his old friend _mean_ , even back when they were still close. Naruto wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that Sasuke had apparently decided to put all of it out of his mind. 

Upon arriving at Uchiha house, Naruto and Sasuke were instructed to wait in the back while their brothers disappeared inside.

It was not a silent night by any stretch of the imagination. The distant laughter and jolly celebration was close enough to hear, but too far away to provide adequate illusion that Naruto wasn’t alone with Sasuke again with neither of them speaking.

Naruto had never been great with awkward silences.

“Warm weather we’re having,” he tried neutrally.

Sasuke did not dignify the useless observation with a response.

“Ne, Teme,” Naruto pressed on because Mito-sama’s stupid story had given him courage. And he didn’t run away and he didn’t back down and if ever there was a time to push his luck with Sasuke, it had to be on the night wherein he appeared to have finally found some luck with the dark-haired boy to start with.

Sasuke didn’t respond, but Naruto wasn’t actually expecting him to so he went on, “You’re being nice to me,” he accused.

It earned him a snort. “I haven’t done anything but insult you a few times,” Sasuke replied dully. “If you think that’s ‘being nice’, I can’t imagine what it would take to be rude to you.”

Naruto shrugged. “Mah. I thought it was pretty rude when you tried to run me through with your Chidori that one time.” Two times. But Naruto didn’t like to think about the second.

There was a twitch just at the corner of Sasuke’s jaw, too minute a thing to guess if it indicated Sasuke held back a snarl, a smirk, or a flinch. Naruto had no way of knowing.

“You think insults are akin to kindness and attempted murder is no more than a bit of rudeness?” Sasuke replied, his voice dropping with severe skepticism. 

“Well, it is _you_ we’re talking about, isn’t it?” Naruto shot back and the words came out light, a playful joke. It was good, that was how he meant for it to come out, but with the teasing jab came an onslaught of anger and bitterness that Naruto was unprepared for and didn’t know how to swallow. “Gotta lower your standards some when dealing with an Uchiha, right?”

Naruto wasn’t looking at Sasuke but he could sense the way his words made his friend freeze in place, holding even his breath right where it was in his chest, completely still.

“You shouldn’t lower your standards for me, Naruto,” Sasuke replied, so soft Naruto almost missed it. “You should just leave me alone.”

Naruto grit his teeth, spinning to finally face the bastard. “ _Damn it_ , Sasuke,” he spat, suddenly breathless for no apparent reason and so angry and bitter he could taste it. 

Naruto was so sick of all of Sasuke’s _bullshit_. Sasuke had been Naruto’s friend even when most of their clan openly regarded him as nothing more than a cursed, demon child and Sasuke had _stayed_ his friend even when Naruto did things that made it seem like they might all be right about it. 

Whatever fight they were in seemed so stupid to the young Uzumaki when he thought about it, so utterly _pointless_. It wasn’t like Sasuke’s avoidance would ever really dissolve the bond between them. It just made having it miserable for both of them. If Sasuke would just say what he was thinking, Naruto could punch him in the mouth for the ridiculousness that would no doubt come out of it, and they could wail on one another until they purged the bitterness they’d built up over the last three years. That was what they did best. They’d always worked things out well with their fists and Naruto knew this would be no different if Sasuke would only _let it_. Things could go back to the way they were when they’d been friends if only Sasuke would get the fuck over himself and say something, _do something_. Take a swing. Anything. 

Naruto didn’t get it. Sasuke never had a problem being cruel. It wasn’t like he ever had a problem hurting Naruto’s feelings before. Naruto hated beating around the bush and it was infinitely more frustrating to have to do it with Sasuke of all people, whom he knew hated the practice even more than he did. Naruto didn’t want to do it anymore and he was done walking on eggshells too.

“I know you were stealing mochi from Mito-sama for me. Why?” he said, pitching his voice low and private, suddenly aware that he might lose this chance he was getting if he wasn’t at least a _little bit_ careful. Abruptly he worried his words were too stark, too blatant to do anything but piss Sasuke off and send him packing.

He should have known better. Sasuke couldn’t back down from an open challenge any more than Naruto ever could.

Sasuke glared through narrowed eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, Naruto. I told you, I was bored.”

Naruto shook his head. “No, actually you said you were there for tradition’s sake, remember? You’re lying. Why?”

He could see the muscles in Sasuke’s jaw twitch as it clenched. “None of your business. Why have you been walking around like you aren’t sleeping again?”

Naruto’s eyes widened and Sasuke’s did as well. Answering Naruto’s question with a question of his own was Sasuke’s go to avoidance technique but his inquiry was far more revealing than he intended. 

Naruto almost chuckled. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Sasuke probably still called Naruto ‘friend’, at least in the confines of his own mind. Sasuke was always so viciously distant and he _never_ let up. Other times, it was so blatantly obvious that Sasuke still gave a shit that Naruto wanted to smack himself for ever doubting it in the first place.

It was for this exact reason that Naruto couldn’t ever just give up, call it Sasuke’s loss and walk away. 

Sasuke grimaced. “Not that I care,” he added lamely. “I just meant to point out that you don’t see _me_ prying into your business.”

“You’re so full of shit,” Naruto snapped back forgetting his hesitation. “We’ll always be friends, asshole. You just insist on making it a miserable thing. You should be able to tell me _why_.”

Sasuke’s eyes flashed and he took a threatening step forward. “Friends,” he spat with such a heavy dose of ironic disgust that Naruto felt it hit deep in his gut. “You are such a goddamn _idiot_ , Naruto, I-“

“Hey, hey,” came the calm level tones of his sensei as he jogged up to quickly step between the two boys. “Can’t we leave you two alone for five minutes anymore?” Itachi-sensei reached out his hands to drop one of each of their shoulders. “You both know the rules. No ruining my favorite day.”

Naruto and Sasuke rolled their eyes as one. Itachi always made too big a deal about the Day of Resolve. ‘ _It’s the one night of the year when all of Konohagakure is of one mind about what’s important; the only time we all agree_ ’ he was always saying in a ridiculous, exaggerated sage-like tone. Itachi liked to think the night and all of its borderline ritualistic traditions carried a certain magic that brought their clan together. Naruto privately thought it was a bunch of nonsense.

“No one would ever believe what a sentimental fool you are, Itach,” Kakashi commented lightly as he approached.

“Whatever,” Sasuke said as he shrugged off the hand Itachi had placed on his shoulder. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Itachi and Kakashi would both be mad at him if he bloodied Sasuke’s nose just to vent. Deep breaths would have to do.

“Let Sasuke open his first,” his brother said. Naruto glanced over to see Itachi handing Sasuke what was clearly a cloth wrapped sword a few feet away now. 

“Open?” Naruto said with a snort, not really caring anymore who went first but still feeling irritable and twitchy with unexpressed anger. “Obviously, we can all see it’s a sword.”

“Naruto,” Kakashi scolded, his voice turning stern in a way that had Naruto responding automatically, turning to meet his brother’s one-eyed glare. “Do you need to walk it off?”

Naruto honestly thought that might be a good idea, but he shook his head, forcing himself to take another deep breath. “No,” he said on a sigh as he let it out. “I’m fine.”

He walked with Kakashi to join their companions and arrived at his sensei’s shoulder when Sasuke was kneeling to place the wrapped blade on the ground for ease in un-wrapping it. Pulling back the cloth revealed a sheathed katana to absolutely no one’s surprise.

“Are you surprised? Did you guess what it was?” Kakashi asked sounding a lot like a giddy child. “You should have shaken it first to give yourself a clue what was inside.”

Sasuke ignored him, grasping the scabbard and getting to his feet. Once standing, he held the scabbard in his right hand and grasped the hilt with his dominant one before glancing up at Itachi. 

“Is it one of yours?” he asked, his appreciation already evident and he hadn’t even seen the actual blade yet. Naruto idly wondered how long Sasuke had wanted one.

“In a way,” Itachi said, smiling. “I made it. But it’s not one I’ve ever used.”

“You made it?” Sasuke gasped, eyes widening. He glanced down again at the scabbard in his hands. He still didn’t make a move to unsheathe the sword. 

“Mm,” Itachi nodded, looking deeply pleased with himself. “Take it out.”

Taking a breath, Sasuke did as he was told, drawing the sword out of its scabbard in a single sharp stroke. The blade sang as it cut through the air, so sharp it seemed to whistle and hum.

No, it actually _was_ humming, Naruto realized with surprise. The blade had an ethereal glow to it as well and it was not a catch of the moonlight as Naruto had first assumed. The moon wasn’t even in view. 

“It’s a chakra blade,” Sasuke noted on a whisper. He swung the katana out in front of him, shifting his wrist and testing the weight. “It feels good.”

“It’s a little different than a chakra blade, actually,” Itachi explained, watching his brother swing the sword back and forth, getting a feel for it. “But it’ll work much the same way. I… well, I made it from the steel of a set of fans mom used to use. They were imbued with her chakra. Others too, but I definitely sensed mom’s. That’s probably her chakra you’re sensing, actually, not yours. You haven’t had enough time with the sword to have instilled your own chakra in the steel.”

Naruto tensed, touched for his friend in spite of himself. He watched with undisguised interest forgetting his irritation as he braced himself for Sasuke’s reaction.

“You melted down something that belonged to mother?” Sasuke asked, sounding more curious than upset about it. His stance went lax again and he spun away into another formation with the sword, the hum of the swing almost hypnotizing.

Naruto’s shoulders sagged, feeling the response was somewhat anticlimactic, though Itachi-sensei didn’t seem at all surprised.

“Hm,” Itachi confirmed with a nod. “She would have wanted me to, I think. She would have loved it.” The elder Uchiha nodded to himself. “And she had others I can show you if you wanted to see.”

“Okay,” Sasuke accepted easily. He pulled the blade up close to his face, squinting in the darkness. “What are these inscriptions?” he asked, reading. “Duality and…Polarity?”

Itachi shrugged. “The words were inscribed on the fans. I don’t know the reason, but it didn’t feel right not to keep them.” 

Sasuke cocked his head, thoughtfully and lowered the katana. He retrieved the scabbard and returned the sword to its sheath with visible reverence. He kneeled again to rewrap the sword in the cloth Itachi had used to give it to him. He tucked the bundle under his arm and stepped closer to Itachi, stopping just in front of him. “Thank you, Onisan,” he said softly, bowing his head.

Itachi hummed again, lips curved in a serene smile. “You’re welcome, Sasuke,” he said, dropping a hand on top of Sasuke’s head and _patting_. 

“Do Uchiha’s not hug?” Kakashi remarked as he watched on, looking fond. “It was such a touching moment; all that’s missing is a hug, really. There’s a noticeable emptiness where the hug should have gone.”

Itachi-sensei rolled his eyes, but otherwise kept his attention on Sasuke. “Kakashi helped, too,” he added, like he was just remembering.

Kakashi beamed. “That’s right. I did,” he agreed, apparently proud.

“Well, I’m not hugging you either,” Sasuke declared, but he was smiling at the white-haired man and he bowed his head again in Kakashi’s direction. “Thank you, Sensei.”

“Is it my turn yet?” Naruto cut in, once more impatient to see what he’d gotten. It was no secret that Kakashi and Itachi competed over these gifts. If Sasuke appreciated _his_ gift that much, Naruto couldn’t wait to see what Kakashi had in store for him. 

“Alright, alright, brat,” Kakashi said, feigning exasperation. He reached out a flipped the latch on the box for Naruto before grabbing the chest from his hands entirely, arms encasing it on the top and bottom, poised to open it before the blond. “Ready?” he asked, because Kakashi liked to build anticipation.

Naruto chuckled, his earlier irritation all but forgotten in the face of his brother’s enthusiasm. “Obviously,” he said, shaking his head. He took a breath as he waited for Kakashi to reveal this year’s spoils.

“Ta da!” Kakashi said as he snapped open the lid.

All the breath rushed out of Naruto’s chest as he laid eyes upon the contents of the chest. “Oh,” he said, awkwardly. His eyes shifted from the item in the box to his brother and then to Itachi-sensei, seeking some kind of clue as to what he was looking at. “It’s…wow,” he shook his head, trying to play at stunned. “I mean, it really is a very nice…stick?” He finished lamely. 

Itachi-sensei snorted and Kakashi outright laughed. 

“It’s not a stick,” his brother corrected, but Naruto reached into the box to pick up the… well, it was a stick if Naruto ever saw one.

“Staff?” Naruto tried skeptically, grasping it in his hand. It couldn’t be a staff. It was far too short, only a bit longer than his forearm. It was thick, almost too wide for his fingers to reach around the whole thing. He could just touch his thumb to his middle finger but the grip of doing so was more than a little uncomfortable. 

“It’s a Chigiriki. Well…sort of,” Kakashi said, laughing as he placed the box down and moved closer. He placed his hand around Naruto’s and helped the younger find the correct grip, guiding Naruto’s thumb to a catch in the lip of the second segment of the weapon. Sliding it over released several chains, so thin that Naruto couldn’t begin to guess the purpose of them. Each one was weighted at the end with a vicious looking spike, but Naruto still doubted they could do much damage.

“They’re very sharp,” Itachi chimed in just as Naruto was about to reach out with his free hand to touch thin chains. 

“What are they for?” Naruto queried, now genuinely interested. 

“It’s a flail weapon,” Kakashi explained. “Itachi says your training in kenjutsu has been… a struggle.”

Naruto let out an outraged squawk, shooting his sensei a betrayed glare. “I don’t _struggle_ ,” he protested. And it was true. He mostly just got bored and started pretending to be a dragon slaying knight. He wasn’t _bad_ at kenjutsu. At worst, he was average, thank you very much.

“He does fine,” Itachi agreed, holding up his hands in surrender. 

Kakashi was laughing at him again, apparently pleased in spite of Naruto’s lackluster reaction. He ruffled Naruto’s hair. “Don’t work yourself up,” he commanded. “He just mentioned you didn’t like it much. We thought you might like this better.”

Naruto was intrigued, at the very least. He returned his attention back to his fascinating stick-chain-whip thing.

_Chigiriki_. It was strangely similar to the other new word he’d learned that night. _Jinchuriki_. Naruto wondered if it was stupid to think the similarity meant anything at all.

“How do I use it?” He lifted the staff, preparing to arch it over his shoulder and try a whip like motion. Kakashi caught his wrist before he could.

“After _a lot_ of training,” he answered, carefully lowering Naruto’s hand. He then showed Naruto how to use the mechanism to retract the chains, holding his arm stead under the surprisingly strong recoil. “Itachi and I messed with it for a bit so we could show you a few things, but you’ll have to figure most of it out on your own. And _carefully_. It’s dangerous, Naruto.”

Dangerous? Naruto was sold. He beamed up at his brother. “It’s really cool,” he decided, he sprung forward, wrapping his free arm around his brother because Uzumaki’s hugged, even if Uchiha’s didn’t. “Thanks, Niichan.”

Kakashi nodded. “Itachi did most of the work.”

Itachi rolled his eyes. “I did the metal work,” he allowed. “It was Kakashi’s idea. I never would have come up with something like that. He carved out the wood and put it all together. He did the engravings, too, on both weapons.”

It was far too dark for him to see any engravings on the stick in his hands and Naruto was never very interested in things like that anyway. He made his way to Itachi-sensei to dole out another hug and a ‘thanks’. Itachi-sensei accepted the hug with bad grace offering Naruto a pat on his head as he’d done with Sasuke.

“There were nine chains,” Sasuke observed softly, apparently fascinated enough by Naruto’s gift to have joined the conversation of his own accord. “A chigiriki should only have one. It almost looked more like a cat of nine tails.”

Smug bastard. Of _course_ Sasuke already knew what a damned chigiriki was. 

“Yes, nine,” Itachi confirmed, sounding amused. “And I suppose it does, a bit. Kakashi thought it would be clever.”

“It _is_ clever,” Kakashi insisted. 

“Nine?” Naruto repeated, staring down at the weapon again, fascinated now even if it still looked like no more than a thick stick with the chains retracted. “Because of Kur…the Kyuubi?”

Kakashi offered up a soft smile and a nod. “Hai.”

Inside his mind, Kurama made it clear just how impressed he was _not_. Kurama still wasn’t Naruto’s biggest fan, but Naruto was sure he was wearing on the beast. Kurama didn’t normally pipe up when others were around. 

It was very strange to have a new voice suddenly piping up inside his head to make snide remarks when Kurama had been so silent before. It forced Naruto’s focus inward and Naruto wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to it.

“Shut up,” he told the kitsune privately. “What do you know about it?”

Kurama grunted. “I know enough. Human weapons are pathetic.”

“Yeah?” Naruto shot back inwardly. “Well so are…fox weapons.”

“Baka,” was Kurama’s immediate response. “Foxes don’t have weapons. We have tails.”

Caught up in arguing with the fox spirit he hosted, Naruto missed the way that his general silence had garnered the attention of all three of the other men that stood with him. 

It couldn’t be helped. Naruto got carried away pretty much every time Kurama deigned to speak. He’d passed many recent nights away chattering uselessly with the fox when he should have been sleeping, arguing for no other reason than to keep Kurama talking. He was fascinated with being able to communicate with the spirit that had been the bane of his existence for most of his life, intrigued by how very _not_ evil Kurama was. Kurama was angry, yes, and he’d been hurt and taken advantage of and was fed up with the cycle of it, but he wasn’t evil. Naruto was certain of it.

“Naruto?” he heard Kakashi call even as Kurama ranted at him. Kurama’s voice made no sound, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t hear his brother. It was just difficult to focus on two things at once.

Naruto shook his head to clear it, but it had little effect when it came to silencing the bellowing voice inside. 

”Hm?” he asked Kakashi, trying to ignore the name calling Kurama had moved on to. 

“Are you okay?” Kakashi arched his single visible brow. 

“Er…” Naruto started, squinting as he tried to respond out loud while putting Kurama in his place inwardly at the same time. It turned out to be a task he didn’t have the coordination for. 

He settled for telling Kurama to shut his foul mouth before turning his full focus back onto his brother. He was prevented from actually responding by the sound of a gasp leaving Itachi.

“Unbelievable,” Itachi-sensei whispered, and Naruto turned his attention to his teacher to find the man’s Sharingan fully visible, glowing in the lantern lit night. “That’s…not possible.”

“What’s not possible?” Sasuke quipped with sudden urgent interest, eyes snapping back and forth in a restless shift between Naruto and Itachi. “What’s wrong with him?”

Itachi shook his head and closed his eyes tight and when he opened them again, the red of his dojutsu was gone, but he was still regarding Naruto with something like awe. “How?” he asked. “When?”

“When _what_?” Sasuke snapped, never fond of being ignored. He was shooting Naruto an accusing glare. It was familiar enough. Sasuke was never happy when it seemed there was a secret between Naruto and his older brother that he wasn’t privy to. Sasuke hated when Naruto knew something he didn’t in general.

He really didn’t need to worry right then, though. Naruto didn’t have a clue as to what Itachi was going on about.

“Don’t look at _me_ ,” Naruto defended even though Sasuke hadn’t voiced his discontent aloud. “I don’t know what he’s talking about either!” 

“He can see me,” Kurama informed him helpfully before adding, “Uchiha _scum_ ,” with a disgust Naruto could practically taste.

“Wait, _what_?!” Naruto asked, startled enough by the revelation to ask the question out loud.

“Itachi,” Sasuke spat at his brother, ignoring Naruto’s outburst entirely. He reached out, physically grabbing Itachi’s shoulder and forcing the elder Uchiha to face him. “What happened?”

Itachi shook his head and cleared his throat, appearing somewhat disoriented by his shock. “I’m sorry, Sasuke. It’s nothing. I was just startled by a stray thought.”

Sasuke recoiled as if he’d been slapped and Itachi flinched. 

“Wait,” Itachi-sensei preempted, raising a hand. Sasuke hadn’t made a move to leave or speak or do anything yet, but the elder of the two siblings had always had an uncanny ability to predict Sasuke’s responses. “I didn’t mean that. I was just…digesting. I saw...”

“Itachi,” Kakashi cut him off, clipped syllables full of urgent warning. “Stay out of it.”

Naruto was confused again, feeling just as out of the loop as Sasuke clearly did. He was obviously missing something. He glanced at his own brother with a quizzical expression, no where near as angry as the one Sasuke was sporting, but just as bemused.

Itachi tensed and turned a glare on Kakashi, chin lifted. Kakashi glared right back.

“I won’t lie, Kakashi,” Sensei declared just about hissing the name.

“Who asked you to?” Kakashi quipped back. He pitched his voice low and stern, adding, “We agreed.”

Itachi-sensei’s jaw clenched. 

Sasuke looked to be getting more pissed off with each passing second. “Onisan?” he pressed, a single brow arched as he waited impatiently for his brother to come down on his side. 

So did Naruto. Itachi always took Sasuke’s side.

Itachi glared at Kakashi a second longer before taking a great breath and releasing it on an apologetic sigh as he turned back to his younger brother. “I’m sorry, Sasuke,” he said sympathetic and regretful, but firm. “It’s not my place say anything about it.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes hard enough that it was painful to watch. He let out a harsh, spiteful chuckle, shooting Kakashi a nasty sneer before shaking his head. “Fine. I don’t care.” He retrieved his sword and a water stone Naruto hadn’t realized he’d gotten with it and trudged off toward the back door of his home and inside without another word.

With the slam of the sliding glass door, Itachi-sensei and Kakashi went back to staring one another down with serious intent. Naruto wondered if it wouldn’t be wise to back away. Perhaps all the way back to his own home. Carelessly watching a playful sparring match between the two deadly nin from a short distance was one thing. A genuine fight was a different matter altogether. Naruto briefly considered going to get Fugaku-san or perhaps his dad, because there was no way in hell Naruto was up to breaking up a fight gone too far between the two men he idolized above everyone else he knew. 

The air that surrounded them felt charged, cracking and snapping almost physically against Naruto’s skin. 

He swallowed. “Um, Niichan?” he tried. “I don’t care if he tells Sasuke about Kurama.” Because really? It wasn’t a secret and it wasn’t worth anyone getting as worked up as _everyone_ clearly was about it.

“Hush, Naruto,” Kakashi dismissed him without glancing away from Itachi.

Naruto cringed and turned his attention upon his more reasonable, level-headed sensei. “Itachi-nii,” he tried again. “I can just tell Sasuke myself. He’s _always_ mad at me anyway and-”

“Go somewhere else, Naruto,” Itachi cut him off, dismissing him just as swiftly as his brother had done. 

Naruto’s eyes bugged out. “Fine!” he squawked, throwing his arms in the air. “Stay here and kill each other for no reason. You guys are even worse than me and Sasuke.”

He packed his gift and followed Sasuke’s example, storming off into the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kakashi got in less trouble than Itachi was expecting and Itachi didn’t get into any trouble at all. A good thing too, because while neither of them had gotten particularly drunk the prior night, they _had_ spent a great deal of time beating the living hell out of one another and were no less miserable than they would have been if they _were_ hungover.

Kakashi got a slap on the wrist for going overboard with Kabuto. He hadn’t killed him, after all, and they’d been able to extract all the information they could ever want from Kabuto’s head before handing him off to Orochimaru, which Itachi thought was a fate worse than death. He wasn’t sure Kakashi would agree, but he was certain he could convince his friend not to do anything stupid, even if Kakashi was still pissed at him.

Itachi was so wrapped up in being grateful for the general lack of consequences they were facing, it didn’t occur to him to wonder why he’d been called in too if he wasn’t being punished. He hadn’t questioned it until he was being handed a mission, and well, of course they hadn’t called him in to play moral support for Kakashi. What a silly thought.

He was there to be debriefed for a mission; his team’s first A-ranked mission. Itachi had completed plenty solo, but this would be a first for his team and it should have been a proud moment, full of excitement. Instead, Itachi went cold inside and tensed as he received the orders, and realized _this_ was Kakashi’s punishment. There was no other reason to not to have dismissed him yet.

Kabuto’s master was a man called Sasori and while it was clear after his interrogation that he hadn’t gotten around to telling his master anything about them yet, they had a much bigger concern. 

Kabuto’s master, Sasori, was in Sunagakure. 

They’d run into a few shinobi from ‘back home’ who managed to slip into this new world by accident with no clear way to return as they had no idea how they’d gotten there in the first place. Sasori, it seemed, had figured out the trick of it. A search of Kabuto’s mind had revealed he had firm plans to meet with Sasori the following week _in Sunagakure_. Team Itachi would be one of the teams to go in his stead.

“You think you’re sending Naruto?” Kakashi asked, his tone calm and even. Deceptively light.

Nidaime-sama grunted, sitting up straighter as he regarded Kakashi, and Itachi didn’t doubt the man could sense the danger in his friend’s demeanor. “You don’t have any say in it, Hatake-san.” He shook his head. “He has a duty as much as you do.”

“You can’t send him back when he’s the whole reason we left in the first place,” Kakashi persisted as he stood up, apparently not willing to kneel any longer. He turned his attention to the Fourth. “Minato-sensei?” he implored.

Yondaime-sama was visibly torn. “Kakashi,” he sighed, shaking his head. “They’re right. He’s a shinobi as much as you are. You were happy about this just last week.”

“Then I’m going too,” Kakashi decided as if he had the right, speaking completely out of his place. “If you’re sending my brother back, I’m going with him.”

“You’re not.” This came from Sandaime-sama and was delivered almost apologetically. “You’ve proven incapable of restraining yourself when it comes to these men. We can’t risk not taking Sasori alive if he knows how to find us. We need to figure out who he’s told and how much he knows.”

“You’re a liability,” Danzo put in, apparently unable to resist getting a jab in. Itachi found it mildly amusing that the man was so clearly on board with a plan that would put the Kyuubi in enemy territory again when he was singing a very different tune about locking Naruto up entirely not so long ago. Itachi wondered how no one on the council ever questioned Danzo’s motives when he was so inconsistent. 

Itachi cleared his throat and cast a bit of propriety aside himself because his friend looked ready to blow up. “Kakashi,” he muttered, keeping his voice low, but not so as everyone present couldn’t still hear him. “I’ll be there. I’ll be with him.”

Kakashi froze but kept his eyes forward, as if he could change the mind of the council when they were all in agreement for once by simply staring them down. 

Kakashi was good, but even he couldn’t pull it off. They were dismissed succinctly less than a minute later.

Itachi followed Kakashi when they exited, completely disregarding the fact that he and Kakashi had ended to previous night in a rather nasty fight. 

“I’ll use Kotoamatsukami on them,” he offered, not entirely joking. If it would keep Kakashi from losing his mind and running off with Naruto, he’d do it. There wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for the man. 

“I’m going,” Kakashi insisted without bothering to consider the offer. “They can’t stop me. I’d be going even if they _weren’t_ sending Naruto.”

“Who’ll watch over Sasuke if we’re both with your brother?” Itachi asked instead of arguing with Kakashi’s resolve.

“You think Sasuke would ever forgive either of us if we left him behind?” Kakashi scoffed, going so far as to laugh at the prospect. 

Itachi cocked his head to the side to concede the point. 

“What about Kabuto?” he asked, trying another angle. “You’ll let him live?”

“Depends on what Orochimaru has in mind for him,” Kakashi replied without hesitation. “For now, he can wait.”

“You can’t just _kill_ Sasori,” Itachi pointed out reasonably, giving up on beating around the bush. “It’s in all of our best interest to find out what he knows. Not just Naruto’s.”

Kakashi paused for a beat, frowning. “I know that.”

“So, you should stay here. They’re right about this one, Kakash. You wouldn’t be able to restrain yourself so you don’t need to come and risk being _exiled_ and labeled a rogue nin,” Itachi said, bringing it all together for his friend. Kakashi could be so unreasonable when he got in his head about his little brother as much as Itachi hated to admit Danzo was ever right about anything.

“Itachi,” Kakashi sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t just…”

“You can,” Itachi insisted, not letting him finish. “I’ll be with Naruto. You know I won’t let anything happen to him. Or any of my pupils, really.” 

At Kakashi’s highly unimpressed glare, he added, “But especially Naruto.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_A little more than nine years ago, Konoha…_

_Itachi arrived in time to save Shisui but his cousin died anyway._

_There was a reason clans like the Uchiha and the Hyuga destroyed their eyes upon death. Kotoamatsukami in the wrong hands could do more damage than either of them wanted to think about and drastic times called for drastic measures._

_Shisui gave his remaining eye to Itachi for safe keeping and threw himself off a cliff._

_Itachi watched with a deep pain in his chest and a burn in his maturing eyes. He wasn’t crying and he wouldn’t. He was no stranger to tragedy. Itachi had seen more than enough to last him a lifetime and he was only eleven years old. He wondered if he’d ever get used to it._

_He recognized the burn in his eyes instantly, the familiar pain instantly stirring up the memory of happening upon his mother’s dead body, laid over top of a deceased Uzumaki Kushina as if she’d died trying to shield the red-haired woman. Itachi had also arrived on that too late to be of any use._

_Itachi came up with a quick plan to protect Shisui’s remaining eye, forcing his mind to focus on the promise he’d made and not the pain of loss he was experiencing._

_But because fate was a cruel and merciless being, no sooner than Itachi had hidden Shisui’s remaining eye away had Kakashi arrived having retrieved the first one. Apparently he’d happened upon the ANBU that had stolen it on his way to visit the two young Uchiha._

_Itachi’s chest clenched, but he took the eye from Kakashi without making a scene. Neither Shisui nor Itachi could have known and it was too late to make any difference now. Shisui was already dead. Wallowing in endless regret and guilt wouldn’t bring him back._

_Instead, Itachi made quick work of transplanting the retrieved eye for one of his own, leaving Shisui’s other hidden in the belly of a crow. He allowed Kakashi to use his somewhat limited knowledge of medical ninjutsu to heal him a bit, nails biting into the palms of his hands until he bled. The pain was enough to bring him to his knees and he recognized again, the feel of his eye maturing._

_He clenched his jaw shut, unable to say a word to reassure a worried Kakashi. If he opened his mouth, he would scream. So he didn’t open his mouth for a long while._

_Itachi gave his own eye – removed in favor of taking on Shisui’s – to Kakashi. The white-haired man refused at first because he already had one Sharingan that he couldn’t turn off and having another would essentially leave him blind if he didn’t want to die of total chakra depletion. Kakashi didn’t even consider using Itachi’s eye to replace Obito’s._

_But Itachi was strangely certain it wouldn’t work that way and he forced the issue, albeit without words. He still couldn’t speak, though the physical pain in his eye had receded to a dull ache._

_Trusting the younger boy in spite of his concerns, Kakashi put himself through the same pain and process his younger friend just had, gouging out his own eye to replace it with Itachi’s. Without any proof, not even a word from the young Uchiha to reassure him, nothing but the knowledge that Itachi kept urging him on even after Kakashi voiced his concerns._

_Itachi ended up being right. He wasn’t surprised, though later, Kakashi would rage when he found out how little proof Itachi had when he’d pushed him to go through with it. Itachi had been certain though, even if it didn’t come from a rational place. Too much had gone wrong in one day for this one thing not to work in their favor._

_The presence of a second Sharingan actually gave Kakashi the ability to shut them both off just as Itachi thought it might, though, so it wasn’t worth dwelling on that either._

_Kakashi would continue to keep the left eye covered anyway. No one else could know about any of what transpired and no one would ever know what really happened to Shisui. It would be their secret, an advantage against Danzo and the formidable force of the Foundation that backed him whenever they figured out a way to deal with the man._

_“He wants to massacre my clan,” Itachi informed his best friend when he could finally speak again. They were sitting back to back behind a waterfall they’d chosen as a quick and convenient hiding place on the off chance that Danzo sent someone looking. It would be awhile before either of them recovered enough to risk being around other people._

_“In the middle of a war,” Kakashi commented dully as he shook his head. “He tried to get me to kill Sandaime-sama, too. Someone has to do something about him.”_

_“Shisui meant to stop him,” Itachi went on because the need for total secrecy had prevented him from saying anything to Kakashi before, though he trusted him implicitly. “_ I _have to stop him.”_

_“Hm,” Kakashi hummed, unconcerned. “I won’t let you do it alone.”_

_The words were almost exact what Shisui had said when Itachi first came clean to his cousin and he clenched his fists again as he was hit with a fresh wave of pain and a healthy dose of fear at the familiarity, the eerie sense of déjà vu._

_He couldn’t lose Kakashi too._

_Itachi was so very,_ very _tired._

_“I know,” he whispered, not bothering to fight Kakashi on it. He knew how that would go. Probably about as well as it had gone when he tried it on Shisui._

_The matter settled, Kakashi shifted topics slightly. “Minato-sensei’s back.”_

_“Tch,” Itachi scoffed. “He figured out a way to raise the dead?” he asked skeptically._

_“Obviously not,” Kakashi deadpanned._

_“Then why is he back?”_

_Kakashi sighed. “He thinks the masked man was Uchiha Madara,” he said, full of doubt. “No one believes he’s right but…”_

_“But what?” Itachi asked, letting out an exhausted huff at the foreboding tone, the tension he could feel in Kakashi’s frame where their backs pressed together._

_“He’s convinced Madara will attack again,” Kakashi revealed. “That’s why he’s here. He says Madara has gotten his hands on another Bijuu and has somehow made allies of both Sunagakure_ and _Amegakure.”_

_“Uchiha Madara is dead,” Itachi pointed out, his voice sounding empty even to his own ears. It was stupid to consider otherwise. Even if history was somehow wrong about The First Lord Hokage killing the man, far too much time had passed to entertain the idea that the man was still walking around._

_“I know that,” Kakashi dismissed. “And no one else believes that part either but…they believe the rest.”_

_“The masked man is going to attack,” Itachi summed up. “Along with the combined forces of the Villages hidden by Rain and Sand. And a Bijuu too? Pah.” He shook his head, face twisting. “Do_ you _actually believe all that, Senpai?”_

_Kakashi sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted hollowly. “But something is coming. I can feel it. I know you can too.”_

_Itachi choked on a laugh that he didn’t really feel. Of course, something was coming. ‘Something’ was always coming. What did it even matter to know it ahead of time? How did it help to know when they could do nothing about it but wait for fate to knock them all on their asses again, scoffing at all their efforts to fight her?_

_There was nothing they could do and certainly nothing they could do now trapped as they were in hiding. Itachi laid his head back until it rested on Kakashi’s shoulder._

_Kakashi snorted. “You’re going to fall sleep while we’re wet and freezing and literally sitting on top of the water?” he asked not without a small amount of skepticism. “You’re aware your consciousness is the only thing keeping you from drowning, aren’t you.”_

_Itachi wasn’t sleep and of course he wouldn’t be able to, even if he tried._

_“I’m not falling asleep,” he told Kakashi, rolling his eyes behind closed lids at the notion even as he let out another long wearied sigh. “But I’m tired, Kakash. Really tired.”_

_It was a long time before Kakashi responded. “Mm,” he mumbled softly when he did, laying his head back to mirror Itachi’s. “Me too.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More next week, I think. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! My efforts here are lazy and weak, but I'm glad some of you are enjoying this nonsense with me!! Cheers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly Unbeta'ed. 0.o Emphasis on the terrible bit.
> 
> Hope y'all find a bit of enjoyment in the nonsense below anyway. *HUGS*

Chapter 5

Minato was still nursing a considerable lump on his head as he entered Senju house, up before the sun for the third day in a row since the Day of Resolve. He’d never been able to help feeling like it was a festival designed specifically to mock all of his failures. Most years, he spent the celebration drinking, losing himself in a blissful sort of haze – his only escape from the ghosts that relentlessly haunted him. Year after year he drank until he passed out only to sleep the majority of the next week away, waking only to replenish the alcohol in his bloodstream. 

This year, however, he beat the sun to rising on the first day having been summoned to a council meeting to scold Kakashi and hand out assignments, after which he’d made good on his promise to keep up with training Naruto, the matter that much more pressing with his upcoming mission. 

He resolved to pick up his routine the next day, drinking deep into the night again only to be summoned once more at first light, a little less than an hour after he fell into not so deep, but mercifully dreamless sleep. There was no sense in missing his time with his son with his ritual already disrupted so he decided he may as well alter his routine entirely to include the obligation. It was worth it for the smile it earned him from the easy to please child. 

Minato was more than a little bit exhausted, but he reasoned he could catch up on his rest the next day. There couldn’t possibly be another council meeting so soon after the last two.

Minato was never so lucky these days. He was summoned this third day by none other than Uzumaki Mito, the cause of his most recent injury and the blinding headache he was trying and failing to ignore. She’d come to retrieve him personally, waking him from his fitful rest with a well placed blow to the head. With the bottle of sake he’d passed out clutching, no less. 

Minato didn’t bother to wonder what he’d done to deserve such a response – there was a long list of things it could have been – but he wished Uzumaki’s weren’t so damned _loud_. Mito hadn’t stopped raving at him since she’d dragged him off his bathroom floor. She wasn’t saying he anything he didn’t know very well already, but she was on a roll, running down the list of all the ways he’d failed as a father. She’d taken him to Senju house to harass him to her hearts content before the morning meeting. 

“She’s feeding you, at least,” Tobirama commented under his breath after Mito slammed a large bowl full of fluffy eggs down in the center of the table they sat at before briskly returning to the kitchen. “She never feeds _me_ when she scolds me.”

“You’re long dead, Tobi,” Mito put in from the stove where she still stood cooking. “You don’t eat.”

“It’s still a nice gesture,” Tobirama called back, turning black eyes on Minato as he slowly mouthed the words ‘mom hearing’, pointing to his own ears for emphasis.

“A mother’s ears are not the only thing I possess that should concern you,” the elder woman returned, though she still had her back to them. “Watch it, Tobi.”

“Terrifying, she is,” the usually harsh man replied, looking deeply disturbed. 

Minato couldn’t but agree, but he kept that fact to himself, half concerned Mito might somehow figure him out anyway. He really didn’t want to become acquainted with what it would feel like to be beaten upside the head with one of the iron skillets she was currently wielding. He wouldn’t put it past her.

Minato flinched, rubbing his head again, as he rushed to change the subject. “Why the early meeting?” He asked Tobirama as he helped himself to a generous serving of eggs, despite the fact that the smell was turning his stomach. It was far too early for him to eat, especially after so much alcohol the night before, but he wasn’t about to test Mito’s patience.

“Hm?” Tobirama said, slightly distracted as he regarded the food before them with an obvious longing. “Oh. To discuss the flaws in your Namikaze no jutsu again, I think,” he said, shaking his head as if to clear it. “You know… if we can’t eat anything, I wish we couldn’t smell it either. It’s torture.”

“You _can_ eat,” Mito cut in again. “You just don’t specifically need to. I eat quite often.”

“Really?” Tobirama was already heaping spoonfuls of eggs onto the empty plate in front of him. He shoveled a mass of the offering into his mouth only to freeze just as he started to chew. He shot a highly annoyed glare at Mito’s back. “This tastes like nothing,” he deadpanned after an almost pained swallow.

Mito chuckled. “Hai,” she said. “I suppose I should have mentioned I eat for nostalgia’s sake more than anything else.”

“You’re a cruel, hateful woman,” was Tobirama’s forlorn reply.

“ _Tobi_ ,” Mito warned, voice rising on the second syllable, dragging it out with a distinct threat.

Tobirama cleared his throat, turning his attention again to Minato. “Flaws, as I said,” he continued with a sudden interest. “Inoichi’s gotten everything he’s going to out of our prisoner, and Ibiki has his way with him as well. We’re still no closer to figuring out how he managed to find us here.”

Minato pushed his eggs around on his plate, trying to give them the appearance of being eaten, wondering why the matter hadn’t been covered in the meeting on the prior day. The smell of bacon coming from the kitchen was only making his nausea worse. 

“It’s not the first time it’s happened,” he pointed out vaguely to the man he sat with, trying to keep with the conversation and distract himself from his violently twisting stomach. 

“Mm,” Tobirama agreed, frowning. “No one’s ever found us on purpose. Everyone else just happened to slip through a random tear left behind by your technique in the space between our worlds. Kabuto was here on purpose.”

Minato knew that, actually. He was mostly awake for the last two council meetings. He hadn’t missed the information, which was likely why Tobirama was looking at him like he’d grown a second head. It was really hard to think with his head pounding as it was.

“Right, of course,” he muttered, shaking his head at himself and wincing when the motion brought on a sharp pain right behind his eyes. “I only meant… we went over all of that yesterday. And the day before. Why are we meeting again today?”

“Orochimaru has a theory,” Tobirama replied, lips pressing together in a tight line as he mentioned the man, dark eyes narrowed in thought. “He’s got a plan as well, but Hashirama will take some convincing.”

“Make room!” Mito shouted before Minato could give response, her voice so loud and obtrusive and _awful_ , he lost his train of thought. He was certain he’d prefer having his head explode to being subjected to her piercing yell even once more.

He groaned. “I really need to stop drinking.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Mito piped cheerfully, nearing the table with a plate of sizzling pork that filled Minato with an overwhelming sense of dread. 

“I _miss_ drinking,” Tobirama chimed in with a pout that would have been amusing if Minato weren’t quite so miserable. He sniffed the air, having the complete opposite of Minato’s reaction to the smell carried on it. “I miss food, too. Oh, and sex!”

Minato was saved having to eat the bacon when Mito decided to repurpose the tray she carried it over on to beat Tobirama to a pulp for his rudeness. It was enough to entertain him in spite of his hangover. At least he wasn’t the only one being punished. Misery did love company, after all.

“Again, Tobi?” Hashirama said exasperatedly as he joined them. “How many times do I have to ask you to stop bothering my wife?”

Tobirama shot an incredulous glare at his brother, peeking through arms raised to defend himself. “Me?!” 

Minato groaned at the shout, reaching up to pinch at the bridge of his nose. “Can everyone please stop yelling?” 

It was going to be a long day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke sat on the dusty basement floor of his house, staring at the far wall and the fans that were now proudly displayed there. Or rather, they’d been propped up and arranged neatly in the only clear, mostly clean space in the basement. It was Itachi’s sentimental idea. Stupid idea really. Their father would be in fits if he saw it, Sasuke was sure. Fugaku didn’t like to remember. 

Itachi hadn’t found any pictures. But Sasuke was struck with certainty that they must exist somewhere every time he looked at the array of fans that their father had somehow managed to take along with them. 

It was surreal. It wasn’t like they hadn’t left in a hurry. It was hard not to wonder how his father had found the time, but looking back, Sasuke didn’t have a single memory of him from the day they left. Not until after arriving in their new home.

He’d never bothered to wonder about it before. Sasuke could picture his father being busy with any manner of things. Fugaku was Konoha’s chief of police back then and it wasn’t like there was any shortage of things to be done, things to be managed. Sasuke could imagine his father being kept away by any one of those. He could not, in any universe, imagine his father rushing to frantically gather sentimental keepsakes. He just could not.

It made Sasuke angry, though he wasn’t sure what the reason for it was. At the moment, he was angry about so many things, he didn’t know where to start. He was angry at his father, and he was angry at his brother, and most of all he was angry at himself.

Understandably, there weren’t many of the fans. There was a single dansen uchiwa, the metal of which looked so paper thin that he and Itachi both agreed it was probably more decorative than functional. There was also a heavy set of black tessen fans with deadly looking senbon lining the outer edges of them and two sets of simple gunsen fans, one set red and the other somehow a stunning white. All of them were beautifully lethal, except of course, for the dansen uchiwa. It appeared harmless, but no less ethereally beautiful. 

To his confusion, the large, decorative gunbai bore four characters in each of its four corners that matched the ones that Sasuke had engraved in his new sword – two on the hilt and one on each side of the base of the blade itself. He hadn’t noticed them the night he received his gift for how dark it had been, but there they were, a direct match for the ones on the dansen uchiwa in front of him. 

Duality, Uncertainty, Entanglement, and Irreversibility. Sasuke didn’t have a clue what significance the words held, if any. He was purposefully not speaking to Itachi about things that mattered to him at the moment so he couldn’t very well ask. 

Sasuke gazed at the war fans and tried to imagine a woman fighting with them. A woman with dark hair and even darker eyes, trademarks of their proud clan, quick and precise and deadly. But no matter how long he laid there staring at imagining, the woman in his head was no less faceless. Unknown. 

That, too, made him angry. The list kept growing until Sasuke felt he might burst. He wasn’t even going to get started thinking about Naruto and his failure there. He’d been figured out by the most dimwitted idiot in their clan. The thought alone made him fee violent.

The fans and his mother were the easiest of his issues to approach, and intriguing on top of that. None of the kunoichi he knew fought with hand fans. Temari had a giant war fan but Sasuke thought these smaller items were probably used quite differently. 

“I saw her dancing with them more than fighting with them,” Itachi said from behind him, but Sasuke didn’t startle. The stairs leading to the basement were far too old and worn for even the stealthiest of shinobi to sneak down. He’d heard him coming.

It was, however, somewhat irritating that Itachi seemed to know his thoughts. Sasuke half wondered if he’d been musing aloud.

Sasuke still hadn’t forgiven his brother for keeping things from him. It was somewhere at the top of the list of things that had irritated him so much he’d retreated to the basement to get away from any living person that might approach him and do something to fan the flame of his anger. Like speak to him.

He wasn’t specifically avoiding Itachi. That sort of tactic never got him far with his brother, anyway. Instead, he decided to give Itachi a taste of his own medicine and keep absolutely everything that mattered to him out of Itachi’s reach.

“Dancing?” Sasuke asked mildly, feigning boredom. He _did_ want to know. 

“Hn,” Itachi grunted with a nod as he moved to sit next to Sasuke, mirroring his position, one leg pulled into his chest, arm resting over his knee. “She didn’t go on many missions after I was born, I don’t think. I don’t remember any. But I think she missed it. I’d catch her dancing around the garden with the fans sometimes.”

“You were five when she died,” Sasuke pointed out, his voice hollow and empty. “You remember so much about her.”

“I can still show you,” Itachi offered, eyes flashing red as he did. 

“I am _not_ letting you put me in a genjutsu, Itachi,” Sasuke rejected with a resigned sigh. He didn’t even have to hide his reaction, lacking the energy to be irritated that Itachi was making the suggestion so casually even if it was, quite possibly, the only touchy subject that existed between them. 

He was so angry about so many things, he was thoroughly _exhausted_ with all of it.

Itachi raised a brow, leaning his body away from Sasuke to better get a look at him. “This is worse than the silent treatment, I think,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t even goad you into a reaction. I think I prefer it when you’re pouting and pitching fits. I’ve had enough of your empty civility.”

“I don’t ‘pitch fits’,” Sasuke protested, face twisting. He didn’t pout either. Itachi was clearly just trying to rile him up so he bit his tongue on further response.

“I know you’re still angry with me, Sasuke,” Itachi pressed on. “But how am I supposed to make it up to you when you won’t talk to me about much that matters these past couple days.”

That was the point, wasn’t it? Sasuke wasn’t about to allow reconciliation in this matter with just a simple conversation. He wasn’t about to let Itachi smooth things out with empty words and promises that clearly held little weight to the older man.

“So what?” Sasuke shot back with a snort. “If it bothers you so much, tell me what it is you’re keeping from me.”

Itachi studied him for a few long moments before his eyes fell closed as he took a deep breath. 

Sasuke scoffed. “Yes, that’s about what I thought you’d say,” he said, turning his attention back to the fans. 

“That really isn’t fair, you know,” Itachi pointed out, reasonable and cool. “You’re behaving like I’ve lied to you and I haven’t. I swore I wouldn’t again and I won’t. It simply isn’t mine to tell.”

“Fair?” Sasuke parroted with a bark of laughter. He bit his tongue, shaking his head. He refused to give Itachi what he wanted. “Whatever. It’s fine,” he shifted, forcing his tone level. “I don’t care.”

It wasn’t like he _needed_ to know. It was just an idle curiosity borne of a habit he desperately needed to kick anyway. The fact that he hadn’t yet, was just another thing on the list of shit that was making him hate absolutely everything in the world.

It wasn’t enough to just ignore Naruto and being purposefully cruel apparently wouldn’t work on the idiot either. He needed to find a way cut the blond out entirely, in a real way that wasn’t just Sasuke pulling out all his tricks to keep his thoughts and motivations hidden. Naruto had seen right through him anyway. He needed to rip out the roots of whatever connection they’d formed having spent their _entire lives_ in one another’s pocket and leave whatever they were in the past where it belonged. 

Sasuke was confident he could do it. Getting rid of things like _feelings_ and connections couldn’t be that hard. Father and the fans he’d smuggled and then forgotten were sufficient proof of that. If Uchiha Fugaku could do it, then it would be no problem for Sasuke. He’d just… cut out the memories, every last one of the places inside of him where Naruto existed and cauterize the wounds the process left him with in Uchiha flame. 

That wasn’t really the whole point, though. Fair or not, Sasuke was angry at his brother. It made him feel off kilter and insecure when Itachi kept secrets. It reminded him of bitter things that were best left forgotten.

“Obviously you do care if you’re behaving like this. You’re a bad liar, Sasuke,” Itachi commented after some time. He said nothing further and didn’t continue to prod Sasuke toward _expressing himself_ , or whatever the hell he had joined his younger brother for in a rare moment of freedom from duty. 

“Hn,” Sasuke responded, taking a deep breath in and out, taking his time to measure his words _just so_ , to pitch them light and even, a simple pleasant observation. To make certain they stung. “I’ll leave the lying to you, then,” he said. “No one is as skilled in the art of deceit as Uchiha Itachi.” He inclined his head at his brother before turning his attention away once again, this time to the sword he’d received from him, still clutched in his left hand. 

Itachi’s eyes fell closed, but only for a moment. It never seemed to matter what Sasuke did. He was never able to land any kind of damaging hit with his brother. Whether they were exchanging physical punches or verbal blows, nothing seemed to get to Itachi.

“I told you, I haven’t lied to you,” Itachi murmured after another too long pause. “Not since you broke the genjutsu I set on you.”

Sasuke tensed and his jaw clenched so hard and so abruptly there was an audible _click_ of his teeth. He wasn’t sure if the statement was more or less blatant than Itachi casually offering to use his dojutsu to show him his mother, but hearing Itachi admit it out loud, so stark and bare was certainly more jarring. It wasn’t like they didn’t both avoid ever coming near this thing that had almost torn them apart, especially now that they were _okay_ again. Both of them preferred to put it out of their minds if only to keep their hard won peace.

It had been a harmless genjutsu, Sasuke supposed, but it was enough to make him question his own mind. Worse than that, for a long time it made him question _Itachi_ and that had hit him the hardest. Sasuke had been left feeling like he had no solid ground to stand on. For a long time, he’d been sure there wasn’t a way back for the two of them. 

They found one, though. In fact, the entire experience forced Sasuke to acknowledge that there wasn’t really any line Itachi could cross that would get rid of the younger Uchiha for good. It wasn’t even a decision Sasuke could remember ever making consciously. It was a given, an irreversible fact that they’d both have to live with. Sasuke didn’t have memories of his mother and the ones he had of his father were…unpleasant, to say the least. Itachi may as well have been his only family. His earliest recollections were of his brother. He learned everything he knew from Itachi, from his first words to Tsukamaki to ninjutsu. Everything inside of him was tied to Itachi. Sasuke may as well have been handmade by his brother, shaped by the elder Uchiha in every way. Every step he’d ever taken had been measured to land in the center of the hard to fill footprints his brother left behind.

So while it may have taken some time, Sasuke had eventually found a way to get over it, for the most part. There was no other option. He wasn’t sure he knew how to trust himself if he couldn’t trust Itachi, so there was nothing to do for it but leave the matter behind, a bitter memory. There was no way in hell he was ever going to volunteer to let his brother play in his mind again on purpose. The mere suggestion was ludicrous, but in the end, Sasuke was forced to admit Itachi had a good reason to want to keep him in the dark. The burden of their clan’s secrets and his father’s bitterness wasn’t exactly one Sasuke was glad he now carried.

The whole thing was still a violation and it irked him to have his brother touch on the subject of his perfidy so freely. Twice in the same conversation, too. 

“If your goal is to get back in my good graces, bringing that up is the wrong way to go about it,” Sasuke said, lifting the sword he still clutched in his hand just to feel the hum that had already become a source of an odd sort of comfort for him. 

Itachi cleared his throat. “My only goal is to get you to talk to me about it,” he said. “You’re overreacting and I know _why_. It’s not my intent to be insensitive, but I don’t like the thought of what might happen if you let it fester. I know you say all’s forgiven-“

“I have forgiven you for _that_ ,” Sasuke insisted, cutting him off. He was more than familiar with Itachi’s fear about letting anger build up on this particular matter. “One thing has nothing to do with the other. This is about you choosing Kakashi’s side over mine.”

Itachi snorted. “That’s ridiculous, Otouto,” he said with an outright laugh that Sasuke wanted to sock him for. “Kakashi is as much on your side as I am. And I don’t think you’d be so sensitive about me not telling you every little thing if it weren’t for what I did.”

“Probably not,” Sasuke conceded with a shrug. “So, there are consequences for your actions. I’ve had enough of you deciding for me what I get to know. It doesn’t mean I haven’t forgiven you for what you did. ”

“But you won’t soon forget.”

“Hn,” the younger Uchiha grunted his agreement. “Obviously. Would you?”

“No, probably not,” Itachi agreed with a sigh. “I won’t lie and say I don’t wish you would, though.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “Don’t push your luck. It should be enough that I’ve forgave you when you never bothered to apologize for it.”

His brother frowned, sitting up a bit straighter. “Yes, I did.”

“Right,” Sasuke scoffed. “You apologized for how it affected me. You said you regretted what it did to our ‘relationship’, whatever that means. But you never apologized for doing it.” He shook his head. “Not that I need you to, mind – I found a way to get past it on my own. I’m just pointing out you’ve never expressed any remorse for making the decision to play with my mind.”

That wasn’t precisely true, but Sasuke wasn’t really sure how else to put it. He knew Itachi regretted his actions. He was simply of the opinion that Itachi should regret them _more_. 

Minutes passed with no reply from his brother. He was squinting into the space in front of him and restlessly shifting in his place on the basement floor, his discomfort apparent. It was more of a reaction than Sasuke was used to getting out of the man, even if it wasn’t much. It made him glad he’d allowed himself to be goaded into talking in the first place, despite his resolve not to let that happen.

“I _do_ feel remorse,” Itachi said when he finally replied. He spoke slow, his voice soft and careful. “A lot. It’s not like I enjoy having you doubt me and it made me sick to see you doubt _yourself_. I just…”

“What?” Sasuke urged him on, physically twisting his position on the dusty cement floor to face Itachi. It hadn’t been his intent to talk about any of this, but now that they were, he couldn’t deny he’d wanted this explanation for far too long.

Itachi lifted his chin, meeting his gaze head on. “I know that for you what I did was cruel and careless, but I didn’t do anything on a whim. I thought about it for months.”

“That makes it worse,” the younger Uchiha replied, face scrunching as he thought about it. “That just means you thought it through and you still decided to do it anyway.”

“Decided?” Itachi let out a long, wearied sigh, shaking his head. “The only decision I can remember making is the same one I make every single day when I wake up and the same one I’ll keep making – to do whatever is necessary to keep you safe. I made a promise to do so and I intend to keep it.”

“How does altering my perception of reality to ensure I’m kept in the dark about things that directly affect _me_ keep me safe?” Sasuke protested getting worked up in spite of himself – which was just one of the many reasons he avoided this topic. Thinking about it upset him despite the fact that he truly had forgiven his brother. His lack of insight frustrated him to no end and he could never keep himself from reaching for an explanation like having one would somehow change everything. 

It wouldn’t. He was just grasping at sand. Sasuke knew that. 

Itachi’s face was twisted with blatant skepticism, one eye narrowed in a squint, lips pressed into a frown. 

“We’ve been over this,” he pointed out. “You understand that my goal was to make certain it _didn’t_ affect you, right?” He shook his head, jaw clenching in apparent frustration. “I know I handled everything the wrong way, but I thought I could take care of the matter before it ever touched you.”

Sasuke shook his head, gritting his teeth. He took a deep breath to steady himself before replying. “I know that. You’ve said that. My problem is that the way you talk about it makes it seem like you wouldn’t be sorry at all if your plan had worked.” 

That was the piece that still unnerved Sasuke, that made him remain cautious, even though he knew beyond questioning that he could be certain of Itachi’s dedication to him. He couldn’t be sure Itachi wouldn’t do it again. Always for Sasuke’s ‘own good’, of course, but still a _violation_ in every way.

“You may hate me for it, Sasuke, but you are correct. I would not be sorry if it had worked,” Itachi replied with a brutal honesty that surprisingly put the younger boy at ease, though it was clear the older man was tensed for an outburst of some sort. It may have been an ugly truth but Sasuke wasn’t a child and he didn’t need to be coddled. He appreciated honesty, even if it was hard to swallow. 

“I don’t hate you. I tried, but… I couldn’t figure out how,” Sasuke admitted with an irritated roll of his eyes. 

It wasn’t his favorite thing to admit out loud. He much preferred showing affection for his brother in other ways, like tripping him while going down steps or tying his stupid long hair to various objects while he slept. 

He regretted the admission almost instantly. Itachi’s tense frame went lax and he brightened considerably, despite the weighted words that came out of his mouth next.

“I did it to keep you safe and to spare you pain. If I’d achieved that, I would not regret what I did. My genjutsu didn’t blind you to anything you care about, did it? Now that you remember everything, can you honestly say anything that really matters to you was altered?”

Sasuke laughed hard and loud and abrupt. He didn’t even know where to start. It was absurd, really – the idea that Itachi’s betrayal hadn’t affected anything at all – it was more than ridiculous. Sasuke felt almost hysterical at the notion, caught in between outrage and genuine amusement by how far off his brother’s assumption was.

“That’s your biggest problem, Itachi,” Sasuke said before he fully sobered, his voice lilting all over the place with aftershocks of laughter. “You think you know best. You think you know everything. But you don’t.”

He could feel Itachi’s eyes on his profile but wasn’t fussed. “Sasuke?” Itachi inquired, soft and tentative. Sasuke could hear the tension in his voice, a hint of dread coloring the utterance of his name.

He snickered again at the absurdity of it all. “I could never hate you, Itachi, I meant that,” he said hiccupping, propriety forgotten. “But you should know I probably only forgave you so quickly because I could never figure out which I preferred – that you never set the damn genjutsu in the first place, or that it had it remained unbroken. _Everything_ I cared about was altered when it fell apart.” 

Sasuke could do brutal honesty, too. 

He wasn’t being dramatic or even trying to lay on the guilt. It was the truth. Sasuke couldn’t think of a single thing that hadn’t changed after his eyes were opened. His relationship with Itachi had nearly broken. He’d lost a fair bit of respect for his sensei for awhile there. He’d learned to fear his father and doubt his place in his clan. And Naruto…

“You know… maybe you’re right,” Sasuke said, laughter vanishing as quickly as it had come. “Maybe your stunt with your dojutsu has something to do with why I’m angry now.”

“I suspected it might,” Itachi replied with a light sarcasm despite looking shocked and more than a little bit concerned at Sasuke’s changeable, volatile mood. 

Sasuke ignored the comment, turning a glare on his brother, Sharingan flaring to life. “It isn’t fair for you to keep whatever is wrong with Naruto from me.” 

Itachi’s brows rose. “Fair? That’s strangely forward coming from you,” he started, lips twitching with the start of a smirk. “Don’t you usually try to pretend you don’t care?”

“It’s not a joke, Itachi,” Sasuke returned harshly, putting an end to his brother’s amusement before it could fully form. He didn’t feel like playing games or beating around the bush. Even the dobe picked up on the fact that he obviously gave a shit and Naruto was the one Sasuke actually meant to hide it from. Itachi had always known better.

“I know it’s not. I apologize,” his brother replied, all traces of his smirk gone. 

“If something is wrong with him, I should know,” Sasuke said, not bothering with embarrassment at how much he was revealing. If Naruto saw through him, there was no way Itachi would ever be fooled by feigned indifference. He barely bothered to pretend with his brother in the first place. “He slept through lunch at school today,” he went on. “ _Lunch_ , Itachi. Naruto never misses a chance to stuff his face.”

Itachi smiled again, there and gone in an instant, so quick Sasuke would have missed it if not for his Sharingan carefully seeking out any kind of ‘tell’ his brother might let slip. The smile looked almost fond, though and Sasuke realized that it was probably for Naruto. 

“That’s not fair, Sasuke. He has to do something to feed all that endless energy.”

“ _Itachi_ ,” the younger boy snapped, impatient for Itachi to stop getting off track and address his point. “What’s wrong with him?”

Itachi sighed. “Nothing is wrong with him. If he were in any kind of trouble, I wouldn’t keep it from you. He’s just not sleeping because he’s wrapped up in getting to know a new friend and he’s taking on a lot in his training right now.” He raised his hand to halt Sasuke speaking, sensing the inquiry coming. He went on. “That is all I will tell you, Otouto. It would be easy enough for you to figure it out if you let go of whatever it is that makes you keep Naruto at a distance. He offered to tell you himself.” 

“Is it really more important to you to keep whatever agreement you made with Kakashi than the promise you made to me?” Sasuke challenged. Itachi had _sworn_. Over and over, he’d made promise after promise not to keep things from the younger boy, especially important things.

“My agreement with Kakashi was _my_ idea, Sasuke,” Itachi replied, frowning as he thought about it, but ultimately shrugged off whatever was on his mind. “You’re assuming it’s more serious than it is. There aren’t many things that could come between Kakashi and me but you and Naruto sit at the top of the list of things that could. We simply agreed to stay out of it.”

“You’ve told me other things,” Sasuke pointed out, reasonably, a bit more relaxed now that he knew there was nothing serious, if still disappointed and curious. That almost made him want to know even _more_ though. What friend could possibly have Naruto _excited_ enough to keep him up at night? What the hell did that even mean? Sasuke knew everyone Naruto did and they’d known all of their ‘friends’ since birth because it wasn’t like they struck up relationships with outsiders. Had Naruto? He must have done, but how? Why?

“I suppose I have,” Itachi replied, cocking his head. “I have tried not to tell you anything that wouldn’t eventually be public knowledge. Kakashi has always been particularly adamant that I not make it easier for you to continue to hurt his brother.” He frowned, lifting a shoulder in a single armed shrug. “I can’t say I disagree with him, Sasuke, though I know you have your reasons. I just wish you’d talk to me about them.”

Sasuke didn’t bother responding to the thinly veiled request, instead honing in on a different part of Itachi’s point. “I’m _not_ hurting Naruto,” he said, offended at the very idea of it. That was the whole fucking point of all his efforts, wasn’t it? 

“Aren’t you?” Itachi returned, somewhat skeptical. “It hurts _you_ , Otouto. I don’t know why you’d have any trouble believing you aren’t the only one.” He shook his head. “And Naruto has always been sensitive about being left behind. You know that.”

Sasuke frowned, fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword, fighting the urge to viciously swing at something. Anything. 

“He’s always been a crybaby, but I’m not hurting him. Naruto is better off,” Sasuke said short and succinct because apparently, it was a day for giving away too much. He was aiming for a dismissive air but his declaration landed with a much heavier impact than he expected or intended. 

Itachi’s eyes widened with sudden understanding and he reached out to grab Sasuke’s shoulder, whispering his name on a delayed gasp of surprise. “Sasuke…” he shook his head, stumbling and looking more devastated than seemed appropriate over such a simple statement. 

“You leave for the Land of Fire tomorrow, don’t you?” Sasuke asked before his brother could form an inquiry. The abrupt change in subject lacked grace but it got his point across. He was done discussing the matter. 

Itachi frowned, staring at him. “Sasuke,” he repeated, imploring. 

Sasuke just shook his head. “I wish Team Kakashi were going,” he went on, pointedly ignoring his brother now. “We still might. Kakashi asked us just yesterday how we felt about defying the council to risk our lives tagging along. Neji was against it at first, but then he remembered Hinata was going and you know how he is. Lee can’t wait to kick something again, so he only listened to the part about being able to do that and he was all for it.”

Itachi was not remotely distracted by Sasuke’s rambling but after a moment’s hesitation, seemed to let it drop, though he was very noticeably not happy about it. “Kakashi won’t bring you along,” he said with certainty, allowing the change in subject. Sasuke was quite sure it wouldn’t be the last time his brother brought it up. “He promised me he wouldn’t.”

“Are you sure?” Sasuke asked, though he was barely paying any attention to the words coming out of his own mouth, caught in his thoughts about everything that weighed him down and the frustration he felt at how little he could affect any sort of favorable change in his circumstance. 

“Quite sure,” Itachi said without concern, at least about that. He was still burning holes into the side of Sasuke’s face with his stare.

“If you say so,” Sasuke replied vaguely. He wasn’t even sure what they were talking about anymore. He was only replying to keep Itachi going down a road that led him away from talking more about Naruto.

It was never going to work for very long though, so Sasuke stood up, not caring if his actions were obvious and easily interpreted by his annoyingly insightful big brother. “I’m going to see if sensei wants to train with me with this,” he explained, lifting the sword. It was a lie, through and through. With Naruto leaving the very next day, Sasuke was pretty sure he had a free day from training with his sensei. 

“ _I’ll_ train with you,” Itachi said, joining Sasuke on his feet. “I leave tomorrow, as you pointed out. I’d like to spend some time with you before I go.”

“No thanks,” the younger boy dismissed, feet already carrying him toward the stairs that led to the exit. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Sasuke,” Itachi clipped out, catching him by the shoulder and pulling him back. He shook his head when the younger turned around to reluctantly meet his inquisitive stare. “I won’t ask you to talk about it,” he reassured, stiff and disappointed, but the words rang true. “I _told_ you I would handle father and Danzo. Kakashi and I both will. It’s not yours to carry.”

“Tch.” Sasuke rolled his eyes trying to pull out of Itachi’s grasp but his brother’s hold was firm, tight. “That’s ridiculous, Itach.”

“It’s _not_ ,” Itachi stated firmly, using his free hand to grip Sasuke’s chin and force him to make eye contact. “But I won’t try and change your mind today. I want to train with you. I’ll let this drop. For now.”

There was a threat in the last two words, but Sasuke wasn’t intimidated, nor was he worried. It wouldn’t make a difference anyway. Itachi didn’t know _everything_ and Sasuke’s mind wouldn’t be changed, no matter what he said.

He could train with his brother though. He was not unaware of how dangerous Itachi’s upcoming mission was. It wasn’t often the council risked _any_ of them taking a trip back home. While he was still very much irritated with his brother, Sasuke wasn’t completely unconcerned, no matter how confident in Itachi’s skill he was. Going back home was dangerous for any of them and that danger increased tenfold when you factored in how much the masked man wanted to get his hands on the Kyuubi again.

“Fine,” Sasuke conceded, with a put upon sigh. “We’ll _train_. I’m done talking though, Itachi. I mean it.”

“Fine,” Itachi parroted, mocking his tone. “You’re so moody, Sasuke. Perhaps we should take a vacation when I return?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned again to lead the way out of the basement. “I said no talking,” he reminded his idiot big brother.

Itachi chuckled and pointedly kept rambling as they went on their way. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Baka!”

Naruto was beginning to wonder if Kurama realized that wasn’t his name. 

He groaned. “If you’re so smart, why don’t you tell me how to do it?!” he snapped, fisting handfuls of his hair in frustration. 

He was out in the woods again with his dad, though, Naruto wondered if they should have skipped it for the day. As it was, Minato had passed out cold almost as soon as they arrived, but Kakashi had joined them for once so Naruto wanted to show him how much he’d progressed.

Kurama was stubborn and _uncooperative_ , though.

“Tell you how to do it?” Kurama bellowed inside his head. “I’m not going to show you how to _steal_ my chakra. Baka.”

“Steal,” Naruto repeated, frowning. On some days, he felt like he was making serious progress with the kitsune that shared his body. Others it felt like he’d never get through to the beast. “It’s not stealing if we’re on the same side, Kurama.”

“We’re not on the same side,” Kurama responded with his usual distain. “I’m your hostage.”

“Oi!” Naruto squawked, taking immediate offense. It wasn’t like he _asked_ anyone to lock Kurama up inside of his person. “Maybe if you’d cooperate, I could figure out a way to let you out,” he shouted out loud. “Baka!” he added for good measure and to give the kitsune a taste of his own medicine. See how he liked being called a moron every second of the day.

“Pah.” Kurama let out a hollow sounding scoff. “I’m a _fox_. We’re as shrewd as we are cunning. You can’t really think I’m stupid enough to believe you.”

“I’m not sure you should be offering to set free the best weapon we have and our only hope of ever going home,” Kakashi commented idly as he watched Naruto talk to himself with a undisguised fascination. “Also? You probably shouldn’t talk to him out loud if you can manage it. You look insane.” He chuckled a bit. “I know what’s going on and I’m still half tempted to have Tsunade-ba take a look at you.” 

Naruto shrugged. He wasn’t quite as intimidated by Baachan as his elder brother seemed to be. However…

“He’s not a weapon,” he said, feeling a bit of discomfort at having Kurama referred to as one. He felt strangely fond of the gruff, rude beast that had been his constant companion even before they began conversing with one another. “He’s… a friend.”

“Friend?!” Kurama mocked with a cruel bark of harsh laughter. Naruto thought it was unnecessarily rude, like most everything the kitsune said. “You’re idiocy knows no bounds. How is it you’re still alive?”

So, maybe Naruto still had a bit of work to do on the ‘friend’ front. That was alright. He was determined.

“Friend?” Kakashi, too, repeated the word with some skepticism and a strange, hollow dread. “Naruto…” he went on tentatively. “I know you don’t remember what he did, but-,”

“That wasn’t him,” Naruto cut his brother off before he could go anywhere with the thought. He was fully aware of how many of his precious comrades had been affected by Kurama’s rampage. His own mother had died that night. He didn’t need reminding about what had been lost, whether he remembered it for himself or not. He was constantly surrounded by the evidence of the pain that remained from that night. It was there in the eyes of every person in his clan that still looked upon him with hatred and distrust. 

If anyone would understand, it would be his brother. Kakashi was always reassuring him that Naruto wasn’t to blame for the destruction that accompanied what he’d come to call his ‘episodes’, when he lost his mind to the power of Kurama’s overwhelming chakra. Kakashi never wavered in his certainty that Naruto was to blame. 

Naruto was just as certain that Kurama wasn’t either. 

Kakashi, however, was looking at him with a tentative sort of concern like he was second guessing whether he should take him to see Baachan after all. 

“I was there, Naruto,” Kakashi began slowly, carefully. “He killed many of my comrades.”

Naruto was shaking his head before Kakashi even started speaking and kept shaking it until the motion made him feel dizzy. “I know that, Niichan. But it wasn’t his fault. It was Madara’s.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes, tossing a look over at Naruto’s snoring dad. “Only Sensei believes it was Madara,” he said with a huff like it was a subject he was sick of. “Most others think him mad for it.”

Naruto again shook his head. “Kurama believes it too,” he revealed.

His brother’s eyes widened. “He does?”

“Hmn,” Naruto confirmed. “He told me so. Er…well, not on purpose.” He reached up the scratch at the back of his head. “He really doesn’t like Uchiha’s. He thinks they’re bothersome pests the world would be better off without. Someone with the Mangekyou set him on Konoha.”

Kakashi went tense at the revelation, eyes going sharp. “What?” he asked, dumbstruck. It was not a look Naruto was used to seeing on the elder man, but Niichan immediately shook it off. “No, of course he’s wrong,” he dismissed with the air of one returning to reason. “The Mangekyou only proves it was an Uchiha. Madara is definitely dead. Senju-sama is certain. Even if he wasn’t, Madara would be long dead of old age by now.”

“Hai,” Naruto agreed, nodding. “I told him that. I’m not saying I think it’s true…” he turned to look at his dad, a sad lump almost hidden in the tall grass. “I’m just telling you; Kurama believes it. And what happened wasn’t his fault.”

“You know nothing about me, brat,” Kurama mumbled in his head, a hint of something like pity coloring the words that Naruto wasn’t expecting. “I killed plenty of people after Madara lost his hold on me before I was recaptured in your mother’s chains.”

Naruto sighed but otherwise ignored the disembodied voice. He was filled with a firm, resolute determination to believe in the fox despite whatever Kurama insisted, though he wasn’t quite sure why. Perhaps it was simply because he understood the value of having someone that did. Naruto didn’t like to think about where he might be if he didn’t have the likes of Kakashi or Itachi-sensei, or even _Sasuke_ around to believe in his humanity when he couldn’t help but doubt it himself. 

He felt a kinship with the creature inside of him that he couldn’t quite define and he couldn’t say for certain whether he was being as naïve as he could tell his brother was deciding he was. Naruto simply wanted to believe in Kurama’s goodness, as much as he wanted to believe in his own. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Kurama had caused plenty of damage of his own volition – he was certain the fox was being nothing but honest as much as he was sure it wasn’t as simple as Kurama would have him believe. They hadn’t been speaking long, but Naruto had gotten to know enough to know there was more to the Kyuubi of legend than mindless malevolence and thirst for destruction. 

“Naruto,” Kakashi murmured, staring down at him with a single eye filled with warmth and awe and just a touch of genuine fear. “You shouldn’t assume there’s good inside of everyone. It’s more dangerous an assumption than you think.”

Naruto offered a careless shrug as he lifted his chin. “I’m not afraid.”

Seemingly in spite of himself, Kakashi laughed at his bravado, dropping his chin to his chest. “I know you’re not.” He ruffled Naruto’s hair, letting out a sigh. “You know, there’s nothing wrong with cowardice. Like this mission you’ve got? It’s fine if you don’t want to go. We can run away, instead.” Kakashi nodded, agreeing with his own suggestion. “Yes, I think that’s an excellent, idea, actually.”

Naruto snorted, laughing and rolling his eyes. “That’s a very different tune you’re singing than the one I’ve heard my entire life,” he said, not taking his mothering brother seriously. “I’m a shinobi just like you, Niichan.” 

“Why the hell would you listen to me?” Kakashi demanded, his eyes wide with a horror that forced a laugh out of the younger boy. “You’re aware that most of our clan thinks I’m insane, aren’t you?”

Naruto shrugged once more. “So? They think I’m a monster.” He glanced to his left, frowning at his father. “And they practically worship, dad. I think our clan might be mistaken about most things.”

Kakashi followed his gaze and let out a heavy huff of exasperation. “Yes, well. He might have tried to put down the sake before the sun came up, at least,” he replied, not altogether unkindly, but with a heavy dose of disappointment.

“Eh,” Naruto said. “It’s alright. I don’t mind. Besides, I don’t think that’s it. I can usually smell it when he’s been drinking.” He knew the scent well. His earliest memories of his father were inundated in it.

Kakashi eyed him with an odd mix of pride and affection and not a small dose of troubled doubt. “You really do like to believe the best in everyone, don’t you?”

“He’s my dad,” Naruto defended, though the words were flat even to his own ears. “Anyway, I’m just glad he’s kept up with this. He’s come out here with me every day for two weeks now. He’s trying.”

Kakashi brightened. “Yeah?” he asked, shooting a smile at his old sensei despite dad not being awake to appreciate it. To Naruto, he seemed hopeful. “That’s good.”

“Mm,” Naruto agreed. 

“Mah,” Kakashi returned, looking deeply pleased and optimistic for the first time since Naruto was given his most recent assignment from the council. “We’ll let him rest for today, then. You and I can work on other things together.”

“But I wanted to show you how far I’ve come with Kurama,” Naruto all but whined. He supposed there was nothing for it with the kitsune’s lack of support preventing him from proving any such thing. 

“Another time?” Kakashi offered. “Besides, I got to see you talking with him. That was…new.”

“Oh yeah!” Naruto chirped, brightening. “I talk to him all the time now.”

“I wish you would stop,” Kurama grumbled. “It’s vexing.”

Kakashi ruffled his hair again, before hooking his arm around Naruto’s neck and dragging him in close as he kicked the unsuspecting boy’s feet out from beneath him. 

“Ita ta ta ta!” Naruto pitched a small fit as Kakashi let him go and he fell to the ground in a graceless, indignant heap. “Oi, Niichan! You could have warned me.”

“Come on.” Kakashi summoned him back to his feet, waving off his complaints. “Show me everything Itachi has been teaching you. Put my mind at ease about you going back to the Land of Fire without me like that’s not the worst idea anyone’s had in the history of ever.”

“I’m a shinobi, just like you Niichan,” the young blond reminded, not for the first time. “Did you think I’d never get any assignments when you let me become one?”

Kakashi blanched. “Let you?” he repeated with no small amount of incredulity. “I had a say?”

Naruto laughed, feeling weightless and happier than he’d been in awhile. “Maybe not,” he allowed, slanting his head just to the left with the concession. “I’m going to be the best shinobi Konoha’s ever seen!” he declared, carrying on with unfettered optimism. “I’ll save _everyone_ and force them to acknowledge they were wrong about me.”

“You will,” Kakashi agreed easily. He rolled his shoulders as he stepped away from Naruto, moving to face him, his stance loose but still somehow daunting. His brother always seemed larger than life to him. “So show me how you’ll do it, Naru-chan. Don’t hold anything back.”

Naruto grinned. “’Kay,” he murmured, feeling giddy with anticipation. “Just remember, you asked for it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke wished he could say he was surprised when Naruto showed up the morning he was set to leave for his first ever A-ranked mission, but he wasn’t. Not in the slightest. In truth, Sasuke had been expecting him sooner. Naruto could be like a dog with a bone sometimes and after their last altercation – if you could call it that – had ended somewhat in the blonde’s favor, Sasuke had been tensed for another.

 _We’ll always be friends, asshole_.

The declaration pissed Sasuke off and not just because the words were utterly inadequate. They were also inescapable and true and the utterance of them blew to shreds the illusion that Sasuke spent years building. Fact, it may have been, but it was a pointless one to acknowledge. It didn’t change anything.

Sasuke watched Naruto approach from far off, but he didn’t move to avoid interception. He was perched on a log in the woods and in all honesty, he’d been waiting for the blond to show. Sasuke had known he would and he preferred _not_ having an audience for it.

It occurred to him to wonder at the location he’d picked and only now that Naruto was approaching did it hit Sasuke how strange it was that the blond figured out to look _here_ of all place. Yet, another irritating clue as to how completely transparent Sasuke had been in his efforts to keep the other boy at arms length.

Sasuke stood when Naruto reached him. 

“I’m leaving today,” the blond said so unnecessarily Sasuke couldn’t help but roll his eyes. No shit, he thought, but didn’t say.

He cleared his throat. “I know,” he said simply.

Silence followed, but Sasuke wasn’t specifically intimidated by it. He’d been expecting Naruto and he knew what to do. He’d considered several scenarios and approaches and he had a plan.

Denial was pointless now, not to mention shameful. Sasuke was already well caught and he’d only make a fool of himself if he tried to keep up the charade now. He had another idea, though, a way to shut Naruto down once and for all. He just needed a second to work up to it. 

Naruto started speaking before he could.

“You know,” he started, with an ironic laugh. “I told myself I was going to get a damned explanation out of you before I left, once and for all.” He leveled a viciously betrayed set of eyes on Sasuke. “But I already know. I’ve always known.”

Sasuke arched a brow, thrown off course by the declaration because there was no way in hell it could be true. 

“It really…pisses me off. I’ve been telling myself there _has_ to be a different reason,” Naruto went on, face twitching into a sneer in tiny increments with every word he spoke. “I _know_ that what I did was stupid…but you’ve been my best friend since the first memory I have and I never expected you’d abandon our friendship over something so goddamn small.”

Sasuke frowned, but didn’t speak, cocking his head with silent curiosity, his plans for the conversation momentarily forgotten. He didn’t have the first clue what Naruto was talking about. He couldn’t remember the other having done anything at all, much less something ‘small’ or ‘stupid’. Well. Naruto did plenty that was stupid, but nothing that had propelled Sasuke to his decision to cut ties. 

The blond clearly wasn’t done speaking so Sasuke didn’t bother asking. He waited him out with patience.

Naruto dropped his head, running a hand through his yellow hair as he let out a dark chuckle. When he met Sasuke’s eyes again, Sasuke could read nothing but disgust in them and when Naruto took a deep breath, Sasuke found himself tensing against his will.

“You were supposed to be my best friend.” The words carried more weight that should have been possible, heavy with accusation and betrayal and inquiry. 

And because it was pointless to lie anymore, not to mention unnecessary for Sasuke’s new plan, he replied with honesty.

“You’re my _only_ friend,” he said, clearing his throat when the words came out scratched and far too low. “That’s why you’re the one I need to stay away from.”

Sasuke expected disappointment or frustration, but Naruto just looked more pissed, body shifting and tensing like he was preparing for a fight. 

“You’re a damned _coward_ ,” the blond accused, eyes flashing with rage. “I may be an idiot, but that’s the _stupidest_ thing I’ve ever heard.” 

Sasuke flinched, growing defensive in spite of himself. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sneered, but it was pointless to argue. It wasn’t like he could correct Naruto without giving away more than he wanted to. Instead, he asked, “What is it you _think_ you did?” 

Naruto frowned in confusion, but he caught on quick, eyes widening and taking a step back as he flinched. “Go to hell, Sasuke,” he growled. 

“Tell me,” Sasuke challenged. 

“You’re a _bastard_ ,” Naruto decided, shaking his head. “You _know_ and I’m not playing this game with you. I only came out here to tell you about Kurama so you’d stop being a dick to Kakashi niichan while I’m gone.” 

Sasuke squinted, head spinning at the abrupt change of topic. It took him a second to catch up and when he did, he found he was torn, not certain which curiosity he wanted satisfied more. Naruto had clearly deluded himself into believing he’d done something, but Sasuke was abruptly struck with the memory of Itachi revealing that the reason Naruto wasn’t sleeping was to get to know some sort of new friend. 

Really, it wasn’t _that_ difficult a decision which direction to go.

“Ku-ra-ma?” He repeated, carefully wrapping his mouth around each syllable.

“The Kyuubi,” Naruto clarified, short and to the point. “It has a name and I can talk to him now. Dad’s teaching me some stuff.” He rolled his eyes. “There. Now you know so you can stop being a baby about being left out. That’s what Itachi-sensei saw the other night; me talking with Kurama.”

Sasuke’s nostrils flared, fingers clenching into a fist at the insult, but he didn’t speak on it. He couldn’t deny he felt…relief, though he hated having to admit it even in his own mind. The Kyuubi. That was Naruto’s new friend.

 _Of course_ , the dobe would be the one to make friends with the damn thing. A demon made of chakra. What an idiot.

“Kurama,” Sasuke repeated again, not quite sure what to do with that. “And you talk to it? Yondaime-sama talks to it? Why? How do you-”

Naruto scoffed, cutting off the barrage of questions. “Go to hell, Sasuke,” he repeated. He took another step back as he prepared to leave. 

Without much conscious thought, Sasuke reached out and grabbed Naruto’s shoulder to prevent his retreat. “Wait,” he said. “I…”

Sasuke wasn’t sure when it happened, but the conversation he’d spent so long planning had gotten away from him completely. Naruto wasn’t the only one with something to say, but for the life of him, Sasuke couldn’t remember any of what he had planned at the moment.

He let out a sigh as he gave up trying. His plans would keep until Naruto’s return. It suddenly didn’t feel like the time for it, and anyway, it appeared that he’d finally managed to piss the blond off enough that Naruto might avoid him from now on, rendering his silly plans unnecessary. 

“Er… good luck,” was his pathetic offering, in the end. 

Naruto let out a snort, ripping out of his grasp. “Coward,” he accused again. 

Sasuke didn’t bother to contradict him. A small part of him agreed wholeheartedly. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_3 years and some months ago…_

_Naruto darted through the forest, keeping the stream at his left to make sure he didn’t get turned around in his hurry. He hopped over fallen branches, slipping past familiar obstacles with a brisk ease._

_He glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke, only a few paces behind him despite his recent injuries. Naruto had felt guilty, at first, agreeing to a race with his friend so soon after he’d been released from the infirmary, but he wouldn’t hold back. Recovering or not, Sasuke would kick his ass if he even tried to go easy on him._

_Naruto snorted to himself. Well, he thought. Sasuke would_ try _anyway._

_Just ahead, there was a tree that had fallen blocking their path. Naruto smirked, summoning to shadow clones as he jumped, having them push him the extra distance to make it over._

_He glanced back to see Sasuke make a series of three jumps to make it over the thick downed tree with little effort, unbothered by Naruto’s seemingly unfair advantage. Naruto pressed his lips together and directed his smile forward out of Sasuke’s sight. He inhaled deeply to counter the shift of something sharp and hot within his chest._

_Competing with Sasuke on anything at all was one of his most sincere pleasures._

_Distracted, Naruto tripped over a rock and almost went crashing to the ground, but was righted the last second but a hand fisted in the back of his shirt._

_Sasuke offered him a smirk and a muttered ‘idiot’ before passing him, taking the lead._

_Well. That wouldn’t do._

_“Hey! Teme!” Naruto shouted, but he wasn’t bothered. He joyfully redoubled his efforts, pushing his way past Sasuke once more._

_They arrived at their unofficial ‘spot’ with Naruto in the lead._

_“I won,” he announced with satisfaction, already moving toward the nearby creek to douse his face with water. He dropped to his knees next to it to do just that._

_Sasuke joined him, panting. “You’ve never won before,” he pointed out. “You only did today because I’m injured.”_

_“I_ knew _you’d say that, bastard,” Naruto grumbled, but he couldn’t seem to stop smiling._

_He turned to his left, watching as Sasuke rolled up his pant legs to wade out into the creek, feet bare. Sasuke was still for a moment, but Naruto wasn’t fooled into thinking he was just enjoying the cool stream against his skin. There was no missing the red of his newly awoken Sharingan, blazing bright and alive._

_After a few short moments – because he was an arrogant_ show off _– Sasuke reached down and snatched a fish out of the water with his bare hands like he’d been doing it his entire life. Naruto knew better though._

_He put on a glare. Mostly because it was expected of him._

_Sasuke smirked. “I know you’re hungry, dobe,” he said with a shrug. He tossed the fish ashore and it flopped around desperately seeking out a way back into the water._

_Naruto dove upon it with absolutely zero grace, ignoring Sasuke’s laughter as he tried to get his hands around the tricky, slippery offering. Sasuke was right. He_ was _pretty hungry._

_Sasuke stayed in the water long enough to catch another fish before joining Naruto, reaching out to hand the second one over instead of tossing it. “Clean them,” he commanded. “I’ll get a fire started.”_

_Naruto snorted, bashing the heads of both fish off of a nearby rock, one after the other, to knock them out and stop their ceaseless wiggling._

_Sasuke had a fire going before he’d even finished._

_“You just wanted to show off your fire style some more,” Naruto accused, narrowing his eyes. He tossed one of the fish over to Sasuke. “If you’re done with the fire already, you’re helping,” he commanded, using his free hand to pull out a kunai. It wasn’t the best tool for the job, much too rigid and thick for cleaning the fish, but he hadn’t exactly come prepared. They always had kunai with them, though._

_They worked in contented silence, both intently focused on descaling the fish. Naruto didn’t mind gutting them, but scaling the fish was always a pain in the ass. His tongue peeked out of the side of his mouth as he focused._

_Always better with fine detail work, Sasuke finished before Naruto was even half done. He rolled his eyes when he took in Naruto’s progress, but offered the scaled fish to the blond, gesturing for Naruto to trade him._

_Naruto did, shooting his friend a grateful grin._

_“Idiot,” Sasuke said, but Naruto minded the name calling less and less. The harsh words sounded warm more than anything else these days, a fact Naruto was in no hurry to point out to his friend._

_He watched as Sasuke rolled his shoulder once and then again before he set to work on the scales of the second fish._

_Naruto frowned. “Does it still hurt?” he asked, not bothering to specify what he was talking about. It wasn’t like either of them would be forgetting their most recent – and very first, actually – battle against real life enemy ninja._

_“Hn,” Sasuke grunted, without looking up. “I don’t mind.”_

_“Yeah?” Naruto asked, surprised. For his part, Naruto hated being in pain, still whined like the child he no longer felt like he was with every stubbed toe._

_Sasuke shrugged, face twitching as he felt his injuries with the movement. “Not really. It was worth it.”_

_There were probably a lot of ways Naruto could have taken the words, but he latched onto the one he favored most, a pleasured warmth blossoming in the center of his chest and spreading like wildfire._

_Sasuke had been injured in the process of saving Naruto, almost giving up his life for him. And he didn’t regret it._

_Naruto could understand that. He’d taken his first life in retribution shortly after and Naruto couldn’t find it within himself to regret doing so for his friend anymore than Sasuke apparently regretted almost dying._

_Naruto had killed a man. A boy really, no older than Naruto himself. Haku hadn’t been so bad. Naruto hadn’t thought so when he first came upon him anyway. He was a nice enough boy with fine features, soft and delicate enough that Naruto had dubbed him ‘pretty’. He remembered having had little interest in fighting Haku at all before the boy had taken Sasuke down._

_Once he had, all bets were off. Naruto_ lost it _, Kyuubi chakra spilling all over the place, and when all was said and done, Haku had lain dead at his feet._

_But Sasuke had come out of it breathing. So, Naruto couldn’t regret it._

_The entire incident had been enough to awaken Sasuke’s Sharingan, too. Naruto was well acquainted with his own rapid healing, but apparently seeing Naruto so bloody, broken, and hurt had deeply affected Sasuke, enough to rouse his dojutsu to life. The thought of that was almost too much for Naruto to effectively consider._

_There were plenty of things Naruto wanted to say, but none he could imagine Sasuke appreciating overmuch. He kept his mouth shut, smiling as he used his kunai to cut into their fish._

_Once finished, they retrieved a few banana leaves and wrapped the fish to cook._

_They atmosphere between them was quieter than Naruto was used to. While Sasuke had grown less prone to rambling as they got older, Naruto had conversely developed the habit of filling the silence with so much superfluous chatter that Sasuke often got so annoyed he had no choice but to bicker with him. Naruto wasn’t sure if it was everything that had happened with Haku and Zabuza or something else entirely, but he found himself unable to keep it up the last few days, words choked by a tension he couldn’t name and didn’t understand._

_Naruto wondered if Sasuke felt it too, for no other reason than he found it strange that the dark-haired boy hadn’t called him on his uncharacteristic quietude._

_He felt restless, body coiled with an apprehension that called to mind the way it felt to brace for the impact of hit or a fall. It was like Naruto could feel something coming, constantly on edge and stressed at being able to do nothing but wait and see. He wished he knew what it was._

_“Ne, Sasuke,” he said as he stared into the fire._

_‘You’ll burn your retinas,’ he heard the sage voice of his brother caution in his head. Naruto ignored it._

_Sasuke grunted his response. He was positioned a few feet away from where Naruto sat by fire, back against the thick base of a tree trunk, legs strewn wide. He was using his kunai to strip away the wood of a stick he’d found, sharpening its end, fashioning a spear for no reason whatsoever. His eyes were intent upon the task though, focused and determined._

_“I feel different,” Naruto confided in his friend thoughtfully. He had a birthday coming up. He’d be twelve soon, but Naruto didn’t think that was the reason for his strange feelings. As much as he always expected it to, gaining another year never really changed anything._

_He glanced over, turning toward Sasuke. “Do you think it’s because I killed Haku?” he asked starkly._

_Sasuke froze for a moment, before lowering both his stick and kunai to his lap, flicking his sharp eyes up to Naruto. “Do_ you _think that’s the reason?”_

_Naruto turned back to the fire, uncharacteristically subconscious having to face his friend at the moment. “I dunno,” he murmured. “Maybe.” His face scrunched. “Not really.”_

_Sasuke dropped the stick and pocketed the kunai, moving forward to take a seat next to Naruto by the fire. “Are you upset about killing him?” he asked, with a note of dread in his tone._

_Naruto shook his head without hesitation. “No,” he said, honest. “He might have killed you if I didn’t do it.” He shrugged because, really, there was nothing more to it._

_“So what’s wrong?” Sasuke asked, keeping his voice low. It had begun to break with puberty and Sasuke hated it so he tried not to speak much or very loudly. Naruto found it soothing._

_“Nothing’s wrong,” Naruto insisted frowning. He ripped up some grass and threw it into the fire for want of something to do with his hands. “I just feel different. Weird.”_

_“Weird?”_

_Naruto nodded. He turned to look at Sasuke and lost his entire train of thought, fascinated by the way the light of the flames made shadows dance across the boy’s face._

_He cleared his throat, glancing away again._

_“Hey,” Sasuke called him back and Naruto’s head turned again, drawn by the command in his voice. He stared at Naruto, the inquiry he wasn’t voicing made clear in the tilt of his head and unblinking gaze._

_Naruto stared back. Sasuke features were as familiar to him as his own. There was nothing shocking or new to be found to look at him, though never seemed to grow tired of looking at him. Naruto was beginning to wonder if things like that were normal._

_It was just that…Sasuke seemed to be better than he was at almost everything and it sometimes seemed the Uchiha prodigy hardly needed to even try. Sasuke was better liked and a fair shot smarter too if you asked anyone that knew them both. He was faster, more precise, and…well, just as pretty as Haku, if in an entirely different way._

_Sasuke never cried, at least not in front of Naruto, and he was never_ ever _scared. Naruto felt like he never stopped being scared. Kakashi always said it meant Naruto was brave, that he could be scared and not let it slow him down, but Sasuke was never fearful at all, seeking out the most dangerous places to climb, always so keen for something new to challenge him. Naruto had been running after him since they were kids and never seemed able to keep up._

 _Sasuke only seemed to get smarter with every day that passed them and the smarter he got, the_ dumber _he seemed to think Naruto was. He was always calling him on it, making jokes and poking at the blond. Sometimes Naruto thought he was right, that he’d just been born a bit dimmer, a bit slower than most._

 _Other times, Naruto felt he was smart_ enough _. He wasn’t always quick to an answer, but when it was important, when it mattered, Naruto figured things out quickly enough to be content with his intelligence._

_Just then, for instance. Naruto’s eyes scanned the well known features of the boy that had been his best friend for literally his entire life and was struck with an inward jolt, an almost sick feeling twisting low in his gut and rising, making him feel slightly ill to breath. He was overwhelmed with a sudden and intense awareness, and hit with an impulse it only took him seconds to decipher._

_He wanted to kiss Sasuke._

_Or… maybe not kiss because that was…weird, right? Boys didn’t kiss each other. Naruto hadn’t ever seen such a thing before, at least. He didn’t really pay attention to kissing and things like that in the first place, but he was pretty sure he’d have noticed if he’d ever seen two boys going at it. If it were common, he would have certainly heard some of the other guys at the academy talk about it. Sasuke was the only one who ever spoke to him but he’d listened in on enough conversations to know that the topic wasn’t one that often came up, if ever._

_But Sasuke’s features were intricate and intriguing to him. Not quite as delicate as Haku’s, sharper than that but somehow softer too. Naruto found he wanted to be nearer to them lately. He wanted to press his cheek against Sasuke’s when it burned with embarrassment or anger just to see if Sasuke’s cool skin would be enough to quench the heat. He wanted to lean on Sasuke, shoulder to shoulder or something and just... stay there._

_And, yes, he thought, peering at the soft pink lips of his best friend. Weird or not, he wanted to kiss Sasuke too. At least once. Just to_ know _, to slake the strange fascination._

_Naruto honestly didn’t mean to do anything about the urge. What did he know about kissing, after all? Absolutely nothing. He didn’t even know how such things were done. Did you just sort of smash your lips against another set of them or was there some sort of trick to it?_

_Having his first kiss with closest friend and rival was the last thing Naruto thought he should do. He always sort of assumed it would be Sakura that he kissed first, if for no other reason than she teased him which meant that she at least wasn’t ignoring him like every other girl he knew. He’d never actually wondered what it would be like or had any desire to actually do it like he did right now with Sasuke. But he really, truly, wasn’t planning to every do anything about it._

_Naruto never intended to do more than think about the impulse and let it settle and fade naturally, but one second he was staring at the thin line of Sasuke’s mouth and the next he was, quite literally, smashing lips with Sasuke, faces pressed close together._

_It was awkward and uncomfortable and Naruto’s teeth dug into the inside of his upper lip almost painfully, but he didn’t want to pull away._

_Neither of them moved. For his part, Naruto wasn’t quite sure if you were even supposed to move while kissing. Did this count as kissing? He wasn’t sure._

_His eyes were open but Sasuke’s were not. Naruto wondered if he was supposed to close his too. He wondered if that made it different somehow._

_He didn’t get a chance to try it before Sasuke’s lids snapped back up, eyes wide as he jerked away. Naruto had been kind of instinctively expecting a reaction like that which was why he never intended to kiss Sasuke in the first place. He just…expected his friend to get to this reply a lot sooner._

_“I…” Naruto started to speak, not sure what to say but feeling like he should say something. Would an apology suffice?_

_The color had drained from Sasuke’s already pale face and his wide eyes seemed hollow, and it lit a frantic panic inside Naruto. “Sasuke…”_

_“_ Don’t _,” Sasuke snapped, voice breaking as it rose._

_“Wait, Sasuke, I’m…”_

_Sasuke didn’t stick around to find out what Naruto was, not that the blond knew where he was going with that. The young Uchiha took off with a speed he hadn’t been able to display on their way out into the woods, his retreating form so fast it seemed to blur._

_Actually, Naruto’s sight in general blurred and he swallowed, clenching his eyes shut, forcing himself not to cry. He wasn’t a kid anymore. He wouldn’t._

_He was disappointed, of course, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Sasuke was his best friend after all. So what if he didn’t want to kiss Naruto? They were still friends. Sasuke would get over it like he always did. Even if Naruto had to endure another bout of Sasuke’s steely, trademarked silent treatment and nasty anger, he’d never actually_ abandon _Naruto. They were best friends and they always would be._

_Two weeks passed, and Sasuke still wouldn’t speak to him._

_A month a half later and Naruto started to get seriously concerned._

_Six months later, Naruto finally let a few tears fall, allowing himself to cry. Just the once._

_It didn’t count if no one saw him.  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up is the clusterfuck of the mission and finally some forward movement in this fic. 
> 
> I love everyone that reads! Let me know what you think. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive the treatment of Sakura. I think it will get better...but I make no firm promises. We'll see where it goes.
> 
> Please do comment and let me know what you think. Any input is welcomed and appreciated. 
> 
> Until next time! XD


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